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Land Draining 



A Handbook for Farmers 



ON THE 



PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE 

— OF — 

FARM DRAINING 

By MANLY MILES, M. D., F. R. M. S. 

rl 

Author of " Stock Breeding ; " " Silos, Ensilage arid Silage," etc., etc. 



ILLUSTRATED 

; OCT 26 m^J 



NEW YORK 



ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

1892 



h- 



Copyright, 1892, 

By orange judd company. 



Preface. 



A book on farm draining is evidently needed at the 
present time, to bring vnthin reach of practical farm- 
ers the established facts of science relating to the princi- 
ples and advantages of thorough drainage, and the best 
and most economical method of making farm drains. 

Under the present conditions of American farm 
practice, one of the most prominent defects in the pre- 
vailing system of management appears to be a lack of 
attention to thorough drainage as a means of diminish- 
ing the cost of production, and insuring uniformly remu- 
nerative returns in crop growing, by increasing the fer- 
tility of the soil, and avoiding the losses from unfavor- 
able seasons. The manifest neglect of this important 
branch of rural economy by the majority of farmers is 
undoubtedly owing, to a great extent, at least, to the 
frequent failures observed in draining, from the practice 
of imperfect methods, and vague, or incorrect notions, 
in regard to the real advantages to be derived from 
draining. 

This is not surprising, as attention has been turned 
in other directions, and the most valuable contributions 
to the principles of drainage, of late years, have been 
confined, in the main, to periodicals and reports not 
generally accessible to farmers, and there is no book on 
this special subject in which may be found a description 
of the best method of making tile drains, or an adequate 
discussion of the latest developments of science in their 
relations to the principles of drainage. Many of the 



IV PREFACE. 

maxims in draining^ of but a few years ago, have become 
obsolete, and more consistent methods have been adopted 
in the best modern practice, wliile the progress of sci- 
ence has extended our knowledge of correct principles, 
and made clear many details in regard to the most favor- 
able conditions for growing crops, which are of great 
practical importance. 

In this Handbook for Farmers, the aim has been 
to present the leading facts of practical significance, in 
connection with a popular discussion of the applications 
of science, and the results of experiments relating to 
draining have been summarized in tables in convenient 
form for reference, which furnish ready answers to 
many of the economic questions that will be suggested 
to the intelligent farmer. 

An outline of the history of draining is given to 
illustrate the progress of discovery and invention in 
developing correct principles of practice, and the direc- 
tions for laying tiles, which are the results of an 
extended experience in draining under widely different 
conditions, are confidently recommended as a decided 
improvement on former methods. 

Lansing, Mich., 1892. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. Page 

General Principles ; . . . l 

CHAPTER II. 
Water in Soils and Conservation of Energy 24 

CHAPTER III. 
Rainfall, Drainage and Evaporation 35 

CHAPTER IV. 
Energy in Evaporation 58 

CHAPTER V. 
Advantages of Draining Retentive Soils 70 

CHAPTER VI. 
Progress of Discovery and Invention 96 

CHAPTER VII. 

Location and Plans of Drains 130 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Quality and Size of Tiles .* 139 

CHAPTER IX. 

How TO Make Tile Drains .- 157 

CHAPTER X. 
Drains in Quicksand, and Peat. 177 

CHAPTER XI. 

Outlets and Obstructions 184 



CHAPTER I. 

GENEEAL PRINCIPLES. 

The rapid growth of science, and the development 
of the mechanic arts which have made possible fche 
unprecedented activity in the industries during the past 
quarter of a century, have brought about economic 
changes in methods of production, which must be taken 
into consideration in attempts to improve the practice 
and increase the profits of agriculture. 

From the intense competition in farm products of 
all kinds, arising from the extraordinary development of 
facilities for cheap transportation, the farmers of the 
United States are directly interested in every means of 
diminishing the cost of production, to enable them to 
hold a commanding position in the world's markets, and 
obtain remunerative returns for their labor, without 
impairing the value of their invested capital. The busi- 
ness methods that have been found necessary to insure 
success in other pursuits must be adopted, and atten- 
tion must be given to every available means of increasing 
the productiveness of the soil and making the labor 
expended on it more effective, while the losses resulting 
from bad seasons must be reduced to a minimum by the 
intelligent direction and control of the forces of nature. 

One of the first steps in the direction of improved 
methods of farm practice is to put the soil in a condition 
to yield the best net returns from the elements of plant 
food which it naturally contains, or that may be applied 
to it in the home supplies of manure. The questions that 
may arise in regard to artificial, or purchased fertility, 

1 



2 LAND DRAINING. 

are of secondary importance to the majority of American 
farmers, and the leading problem for them to solve is to 
obtain the best returns from the elements of production 
already within their control. 

Among the available agencies for bringing about 
this desirable conservation and utilization of the elements 
of profitable crop-growing on a large proportion of the 
farms of this country, thorough drainage is the most 
important, as upon it will depend the successful applica- 
tion of other means of increasing productiveness, includ- 
ing thorough tillage and manures, which are relied upon 
to increase the net income that may be derived from the 
aggregate of farm operations. 

In order to lay a foundation for the intelligent dis- 
cussion of the advantages of thorough drainage it will 
be necessary to briefly review some of the conditions that 
are essential to the health and well-being of the crops 
grown on the farm. The results of scientific investiga- 
tions are suggestive, and the knowledge that has been 
gained of the laws and processes of vegetable nutrition 
and growth must be recognized as of great practical 
value in farm economy, when their relations to details 
of practice are clearly understood. 

The uniform certainty of results obtained in all 
operations in other industries can only be realized in 
agriculture Avhen the practice of the art is based on con- 
sistent principles, in harmony with those natural laws 
which it is the mission of science to discover and inves- 
tigate. In dealing with the different forms of life with 
which the farmer is chiefly concerned, the best results can 
only be obtained by a strict conformity to physiological 
laws, the practical significance of which may readily be 
learned and appreciated, without any profound knowl- 
edge of the science of physiology. 

Clear and consistent notions of the philosophy of 
farm drainage can only be secured by an examination 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 3 

of the known facts relating to the nutritive activities of 
plants and their relations to the soil and its contained 
moisture, to ascertain what special conditions are likely 
to interfere with their normal processes of growth. The 
intelligent farmer will not be satisfied with the simple 
statement that the draining of retentive soils makes 
them more productive, but he will inquire how this 
result is brought about, and the knowledge he may 
acquire in tracing to their source the conditions that 
favor the vigorous growth of his crops, will be of value 
to him in suggesting many details of practice that may 
be profitably adopted in his general system of farm 
management. 

We cannot, of course, in this connection, attempt a 
full discussion of the physiology of plants, and attention 
will only be directed to some of the leading facts in this 
department of science, that have a direct relation to the 
principles of farm drainage. 

Physiologists tell us that a very large proportion of 
the dry substance of plants is derived from the atmos- 
phere, but it is well understood that the atmospheric 
supplies of plant food are only made available when 
their roots are enabled to take from the soil, under 
favorable conditions, the comparatively limited amount 
of nutritive materials it is their function to furnish. 

From a practical standpoint it is, therefore, a mat- 
ter of the first importance to provide suitable soil condi- 
tions to promote the functional activities of the roots of 
plants, as they have direct relations with the part per- 
formed by the leaves in appropriating from the atmos- 
phere materials that constitute the great bulk of the dry 
substance of the plant. 

Dr. Gilbert makes the statement that in the Roth- 
amsted experiments, ^^by the application of nitrogen to 
the soil, for mangels, there was, in ^lany cases, an 
increased assimilation of about one ton of carbon per 



4 LAl!q"D DRAINING. 

acre, from the atmospliere," and that one pound of 
nitrogen as manure for mangels gave an increase of over 
twenty-two pounds of sugar, derived almost exclusively 
from tlie atmosphere. With wheat and barley for 
twenty years there was an increase of from fourteen to 
twenty-two pounds of carbon in the crop for each one 
pound of nitrogen in the manure. The results here 
presented are in strict accordance with other known facts 
in vegetable physiology, which it is unnecessary to 
notice, and we cannot avoid the conclusion that soil con- 
ditions have a direct influence on all of the nutritive 
processes of plants, and that their chemical composition 
furnishes no index of their requirements in regard to the 
food constituents that may be profitably applied in the 
form of manures. 

In the growing of crops, as well as in the care of his 
animals, the farmer is dealing with living organisms, 
and it is not sufficient to furnish the food elements 
required in building tissues, but he must also provide 
conditions that are in every way favorable for the exer- 
cise of their vital activities, on which the appropriation 
and assimilation of their food directly depends. 

OoNDiTioiq-s OF Plaint G^rowth. 

In common with other living organisms, our farm 
crops require certain conditions of environment for their 
active growth and perfect development, and among 
those which the farmer can, to a greater or less extent, 
control, may be enumerated as essential — a favorable 
temperature, a proper supply of moisture, and a supply 
of appropriate food. In the absence of, or any marked 
deficiency in, either of these conditions, the plants can- 
not thrive. These conditions must be studied in detail, 
as they have a direct relation to the subject of farm 
drainage. 

Temperature. Plants do not grow in the spring, 
and seeds do not germinate until the soil is sufficiently 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 5 

warmed by the sun and the heat liberated in the pro- 
cesses of soil metabolism. Each crop is adapted, by its 
inherited habits, to a certain range of temperature pecu- 
liar to itself. There is a minimum temperature at 
which all growth ceases, a maximum beyond which the 
plant cannot live, and between these extremes there is 
an optimum temperature that is most favorable for 
rapid growth. Any agency, or condition of the soil that 
tends to lower the temperature from the optimum point 
must, therefore, retard the processes of growth and devel- 
opment, no matter how favorable other conditions 
may be. 

The range of temperature within which plants can 
grow lies between the freezing point and about 122° F. 
The optimum temperature in any particular case can 
only be stated approximately, as the results may be 
modified by other conditions. According to the experi- 
ments of Sachs, Koppen and Alphonse de Candolle, 
wheat and barley do not sprout if the temperature is 
below 41°, and the most rapid growth was made at about 
84° F. Maize required a temperature of at least 48° for 
germination, and the most rapid growth of the roots 
was made when the temperature was about 90° to 93°.* 

Carbon, which constitutes about one-half of the dry 
substance of plants, is appropriated by chlorophyll (the 
green coloring substance of plants), in the presence of 
light, from the small percenta2:e of carbonic acid present 
in the atmosphere. The larger part of the carbon 
assimilated by plants from carbonic acid is obtained 
by the leaves, but the air permeating cultivated soils 
contains a larger percentage of carbonic acid than the 
normal atmosphere, and this is absorbed by soil water, 
and may therefore gain access to the plant through the 
roots. The presence of chlorophyll, however, appears to 
be necessary for the assimilation of the carbon from the 

*Saclis' Text Book of Botany, p- 750. 



G LAND DRAINING. 

carbonic acid introduced through the roots, as well as by 
the leaves. The lowest temperature at which chlorophyll 
was formed in maize was observed, by Sachs, to be 
between 43° and 59°.* When the temperature is too low 
for the active formation of chlorophyll, as in cold, back- 
ward spring months, the pale appearance of the plants 
indicates a defective power of appropriating carbon from 
the atmosphere. The summer teaiperature in England 
is barely sufficient to mature wheat and barley, and 
Indian corn, which requires a higher temperature, can- 
not be grown as a farm crop. 

Moisture. When growing, or in the green state, 
from about 68 to 88 per cent, of the weight of farm 
crops is water, and the remaining 12 to 32 per cent, is 
referred to as dry substance. The water contained in 
the crop, however, represents but a small part of that 
which is made use of in its processes of growth. The 
roots of a healthy and rapidly growing plant are con- 
stantly absorbing water from the soil, which is finally 
exhaled by the leaves, and disappears, in the form of 
vapor, in the atmosphere. A circulation of water 
through the tissues of the plant is thus maintained for 
the introduction and distribution of the inorganic nutri- 
tive materials derived from the soil. From this it will 
be seen that the amount of water required by farm crops 
is in fact very much larger than would be suspected by 
those who are not familiar with these well known pro- 
cesses in the nutrition of plants. 

In a careful series of experiments made at Eotham- 
sted, it was found that from 250 to 300 pounds of water 
was exhaled by field crops, for each pound of dry sub- 
stance formed and stored up by the plants. "Hellriegel 
(at Dahme, Prussia) found that summer wheat and rye, 
oats, beans, peas, buckwheat, red clover, yellow lupines 
and summer colza, on the average, exhaled three hundred 

* Sachs' 1. c, p. 651. 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 7 

grams of water for one gram of dry matter produced, 
above ground, during the entire season of growth, when, 
stationed in a sandy soil."* It is probable that field 
crops, from their more vigorous growth and active pow- 
ers of assimilation, may exhale a larger amount of water 
than plants under the artificial conditions required in 
exact experiments. Lawes and Gilbert estimate the 
average amount of dry substance produced on some of 
their experimental wheat plots at 5,600 pounds per acre, 
and this would involve the exhalati.on of over 800 tons 
of water. Estimated on the same basis, a crop of wheat 
of 25 bushels per acre would exhale, in its processes of 
growth, more than 500 tons of water, and a crop of one 
acre of Indian corn, of 60 bushels, would exhale about 
960 tons of water, equivalent to more than 8.5 inches 
of rainfall. 

The absolute amount of water in the soil that is 
most favorable for the growth of plants can only be 
approximately stated, as it will probably vary with the 
character of the soil, the kind of crop grown, and 
atmospheric conditions influencing evaporation. 

^'Hellriegel experimented with wheat, rye, and oats, 
in a pure sand mixed with a sufficiency of plant food. 
The sand, when saturated with water, contained 25% 
of the liquid." The results are given in the following 
table, the weights being in grams. 

TABLE 1. 
Water in Soil, akd Yield of Chops. 



WATER IN Soil. 


Y'LD OF Wheat. 


Yield of Rye. 


Yield of Oats. 


In per 

cent, 
of soil. 


In p. c. of 
retent'e 
power. 
10-20 
20-40 
40-60 
60-80 


Straw 
and 
cliaff. 


Grain. 


Straw 
and 

chaff. 
8.3 
11.8 
15.1 
16.4 


Grain. 


Straw 
and 
chaff. 


Grain. 


2^5 
5-10 
10-15 
15-20 


7.0 
15.1 
21.4 
23.3 


2.8 
8.4 
10.3 
11.4 


3.9 
8.1 
10.3 
10.3 


4.2 
11.8 
13.9 
15.8 


1.8 

7.8 

10.9 

11.8 



"In each case the proportion of water in the soil 
was preserved within the limits given in the first column 



How Crops Grow, 1890 ed., p, 311. 



8 LAITD DRAINING. 

of tlie table, tlirougliout the entire period of growth. It 
is seen that in this sandy soil 10-15 per cent, of water 
enabled the rye to yield a maximum crop of grain, and 
brought wheat and oats very closely to a maximum crop. 
Hellriegel noticed that the plants exhibited no visible 
deficiency of water, except through stunted growth, in 
any of these experiments. Wilting never took place 
except wheu the supply of water was less than 2^ 
per cent."* 

As farm crops will not grow well in a wet soil, it 
must be evident that the soil must be well pulverized 
and porous, and readily permeable to moisture, so that 
healthy roots may be distributed throughout its entire 
mass, to enable them to gather the large amount of 
water they require from the moist particles that repre- 
sent the normal conditions of a productive soil. The 
capillarity of soils or permeability to moisture, so that a 
moderate but continuous supply is furnished to the 
growing crop, must then be recognized as an essential 
condition of fertility. 

Food Supply. The roots of farm crops obtain 
from the soil certain materials that are needed in their 
constructive processes, among which are : nitrogen, 
chiefly in the form of nitric acid, or, to a limited extent, 
perhaps as ammonia — free oxygen from the, air perme- 
ating the soil — and the mineral constituents that appear 
as ash when the plant is burned. 

The larger rpots serve simply as supports to the 
plant, or, in some cases, as stores of nutritive materials; 
while the absorption of plant food is exclusively carried 
on by the slender, thin-walled fibrils, or fine branches, 
forming the ultimate subdivisions of the larger roots. 
In most cases the absorbing surface is materially 
increased by numerous still more delicate cells, called 
root-hairs, which are thickly distributed near the end of 

*How Crops Feed, pp. 215-216. 



GENERAL PIUNCIPLES. 9 

the fibrils. As the root fibrils increase in length, feel- 
ino- their way, as it were, between the particles of soil, 
the older root-hairs disappear and new ones are formed 
a short distance behind the slender growing tip of the 
fibrils, and, in a vigorous, healthy plant, tlicse delicate 
absorbing organs are found to penetrate every available 
space between the particles of soil. 

The extent of these absorbing fibrils and root-hairs 
would not be observed in a careless examination, as most 
of them, under average conditions, are left in the soil 
when the plants are pulled up, the larger roots, only, 
remaining attached to the stalk. Hellriegel estimated 
the aggregate length of the roots of a single barley plant 
at one hundred and twenty-eight feet, and of an oat 
plant at one hundred and fifty feet, and he found that 
but a small fraction of a cubic foot of soil sufficed for 
this extended root development.* Under suitable con- 
ditions, the roots of a growing plant may be observed 
under the microscope, and the slender fibrils and root- 
hairs can then be seen closely in contact with each parti- 
cle of the soil. These facts furnish a ready and simple 
explanation of the injurious effects of drainage water 
when retained in soils. These delicate absorbing organs 
of the roots of plants are not fitted for an aquatic life, 
and they readily succumb under the encroachments of 
standing or drainage water in soils. Their function is 
to absorb free oxygen, as well as the mineral constitu- 
ents of plant food, and air must be allowed to circulate 
between the soil particles, to furnish the needed supply. 
When the space between the particles of soils is filled 
with drainage water" the air is excluded, the supply of 
free oxygen cut off, and the active agents of absorption 
cannot live under these abnormal conditions. 

We must, then, include among the essential condi- 
tions of vigorous growth in plants, a finely pulverized 

*Ho\v Crops Grow, 1890 ed., p. 2G5. 



10 LAI^D DRAINING. 

soil free from drainage water, ' that will permit and 
encourage the free ramification of these delicate organs 
of absorption, in free contact with air, and the moist 
surface of the soil particles. 

Soil Metabolism. Soils are not an inert mass of 
matter from which plants passively obtain their food 
supplies. All soils that are, or may be made, fertile, are 
constantly undergoing change, and the transformations 
taking place in the arrangement, or relations of their 
constituents, may be favorable, or otherwise, to the well 
being of the crops growing in them, according to the 
conditions present for thfe time being. The aggregate 
of chemical, physical and biological changes, or trans- 
formations that take place in soils, are conveniently 
expressed by the general term metabolism, without 
attempting to distinguish between them, which, in the 
present state of knowledge, would, in most cases, be 
impossible. 

For a more detailed account of the purely chemical 
and physical changes taking place in soils, than, for lack 
of space, is here given, the reader is referred to readily 
accessible works, in which they are more or less fully 
discussed.* 

Biological Factors. Eecent investigations, how- 
ever, tend to show that biological activities are impor- 
tant, and, perhaps, in some cases, dominant factors in 
soil metabolism, and in their relations to our present 
subject of farm drainage they require notice in greater 
detail. 

All processes of fermentation and putrefaction are 
now known to be caused by living organisms, each of 



* Master's Plant Life on the Farm, and Warington's Chemistry of the 
Farm, are admirable popular elementary works that may be profitably 
consulted by the general reader. For the advanced student Johnson's 
Hotv Crojps Feed, and HoiO Croi^s Grow, new ed., 1890, and Storer's Agri- 
culture, 2 vols., will be more satisfactory, from the more detailed illus- 
tration of the principles under discussion. 



GEKERAL PRINCIPLES. 11 

which performs a specific role in tearing down and disin- 
tegrating organic substances in their processes of nutri- 
tion. Yeast, a minute plant, of which there are several 
species, is the type of the true alcoholic ferments. The 
lactic, butyric, acetic, and. other ferments, belong to the 
group of minute organisms popularly known as bacteria, 
or microbes. To the same group belong the yarious fer- 
ments concerned in the complex processes of putrefaction. 

The rotting of manures and the disintegration of 
organic matters in the soil are brought about by a series 
of micro-organisms that succeed each other with the 
change of conditions presented in the course of the 
putrefactive process. One species, beginning the work 
of putrefaction, after taking the supplies of food fitted 
for its nourishment, leaves a residual mass that is better 
suited to the requirements of some other species which 
succeeds it, and this, in turn, for the same reasons, is 
succeeded by anotlier form better fitted for the new con- 
ditions, and these changes in the active agents of decay 
are repeated, whollj^, or in part, until the entire mass is 
reduced to its elements, or simple binary compounds. 
Each species requires, for the exercise of its vital activi- 
ties, certain conditions of environment, and as these are 
constantly changing as the putrefactive process proceeds, 
the microbes that, Jfcr the time being are best adapted 
to the prevailing conditions, become the dominant spe- 
cies. This is, in fact, but a phase of the *' struggle for 
existence," and '^survival of the fittest," that is now 
recognized as an important factor in the evolution of 
organic beings. 

Agricultural plants cannot make use of organic sub- 
stances as food, but in the processes of disintegration, 
to which they are subjected in the soil, plant food is 
liberated in an available form ; but in case no growing 
plant is present to appropriate it, the next series of 
changes, brought about by the accession of other species 



12 LA:tTD DRAINING. 

of microbes, may transform what is valuable plant food 
to a condition unfitted for the nutrition of plants. Soil 
exhaustion cannot, therefore, be measured by the amount 
of the chemical elements of fertility removed in crops. 
In the absence of growing plants a loss of fertility may 
not only take place through the agency of microbes, but 
it may be washed out of the soil by rains, or locked up 
in more stable compounds with other soil constituents. 
Summer fallows were supposed to increase the available 
elements of fertility in the soil, but the soluble materials 
formed in the metabolism of fallow soils are liable to be 
washed out by rains, in the absence of . growing plants 
to make use of them. 

Schloesing and Muntz made the notable discovery, 
in 1877, that nitrification is caused by microbes, and 
this led to further investigations, by numerous observ- 
ers, in regard to the agency of these organisms in pre- 
paring plant food, which have proved to be of great 
practical interest. Nitric acid, in combination with 
bases, forming nitrates, seems to be the favorite form of 
nitrogenous food for farm crops, and this is provided by 
nitrifying microbes, under suitable conditions for the 
exercise of their processes of nutrition, from the nitro- 
gen of the organic substances, and ammonia of the soil 
and manures, and from the atmo^heric nitrogen per- 
meating the soil. 

Nitrification is carried on very slowly at tempera- 
tures but little above the freezing point, and then rap- 
idly increases as the temperature is raised to an optimum 
of 90° to 99°, when the organisms are most active. At 
higher temperatures nitrification diminishes, and ceases 
entirely at 125° to 131°. At Rothamsted thirty-seven 
days were required for the nitrification of the substances 
under experiment at 52°, while it was completed in eight 
days at a temperature of 86°. Schloesing and Muntz 
state ^^that at 99° nitrification is ten times more rapid 
than at 57°." 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 13 

We have already noticed the relations of tempera- 
ture to the vigorous growth of the plants themselves, 
and it now appears that the supplies of plant food are 
likewise influenced by the temperature of the soil, 
through its effects on the living organisms that prepare 
it. The atmosphere is composed, of a mixture of gases 
consisting, by volume, of 20.96 per cent, of oxygen, 
79.00 per cent, of nitrogen and 0.04 per cent, of carbon 
dioxide (carbonic acid), to which should be added a 
variable amount of the vapor of water and minute quan- 
tities of combined nitrogen, in the form of nitric acid, 
ammonia, and organic matters, which are washed out by 
rains and thus carried to the soil. The nitrogen annu- 
ally added to the soil from this source, at Eothamsted, 
is estimated not to exceed four or five pounds per acre. 

When the discovery was made of the composition of 
the atmosphere it was at once supposed that the vast 
envelop of free atmospheric nitrogen was the main, or 
sole, source of the nitrogen of plants. Experiments by 
Boussingault, in France, and by Lawes and Gilbert, at 
Rothamsted, in England, however, showed that free 
atmospheric nitrogen was not appropriated by plants, 
and that their supplies of nitrogen were obtained from 
the soil. Notwithstanding this conclusive evidence to 
the contrary, it is a popular notion, indorsed even by 
some chemists, that leguminous crops (clover, beans, 
peas, etc.) obtain their nitrogen directly from the atmos- 
phere. The practical inferences from this erroneous 
theory are misleading, as they ignore the importance of 
soil conditions on the supplies of nitrogenous plant food. 

It was likewise shown in the Eothamsted experi- 
ments that, while leguminous plants removed from the 
soil much larger amounts of nitrogen than the cereals, 
they were not benefited by nitrogenous manures, which 
had a marked influence in increasing the growth of the 
cereals. It was also found that on land where cereal 



14 LAND DRAIN"ING. 

crops failed to grow from a deficiency of soil nitrogen, 
large leguminous crops were grown containing much 
more nitrogen than a heavy crop of cereals. It was, in 
fact, evident that leguminous crops obtained nitrogen in 
some way, or from some source, that was not available 
for the cereals. 

An explanation of these anomalous results has been 
furnished by recent experiments, and it is now known 
that the tubercles, or nodules, that have been frequently 
observed on the roots of leguminous and some other 
plants, are caused by microbes, and that, through their 
agency, the free nitrogen of the atmosphere permeating 
the soil is appropriated and made ayailable, as combined 
nitrogen, in the nutrition of the plants with which they 
are associated. 

Some of the experiments leading to these conclu- 
sions will be of interest here, as they have a direct bear- 
ing on the subject of farm drainage in its relations to 
soil metabolism. Hellriegel, in experiments with agri- 
cultural plants, in pots filled with washed quartz sand, 
to which nutritive solutions containing no nitrogen were 
added, found that in some of the pots the plants grew 
luxuriantly, while in others the growth seemed to be 
limited and determined by the amount of nitrogen con- 
tained in the seed. He observed numerous nodules on 
the roots of the plants that made a good growth, while 
there were none on the roots of the plants of limited 
growth. A probable relation of the root-nodules to the 
supply of nitrogen obtained by the plants was suggested 
and made the subject of inyestigation. 

Experiments were planned *^to determine whether, by 
the supply of the organisms, the formation of the root- 
nodules and luxuriant growth could be induced, and 
whether, by their exclusion, the result could be pre- 
vented. To this end he added to some of a series of 
experimental pots 25 c.c. (0.88 ounces), or, sometimes. 



GENERAL PRINCirLES. 15 

50 c.c. (1.76 ooncGD) of a turbid extract of a fertile soil, 
made by shaking a given quantity of it with five times 
its weight of distilled water. In some cases, however, 
the extract was sterilized (by the application of heat, to 
destroy all living organisms). In those in which it was 
not sterilized there was almost uniformly luxuriant 
growth and abundant formation of root-nodules ; but 
w^ith sterilization there were no such results. Consistent 
results were obtained with peas, vetches and some other 
Papilionaceae ; but the application of the same soil- 
extract had no effect in the case of lupines, seradella and 
some other plants of the family which are known to 
grow more favorably on sandy, than on loamy, or rich 
humus soils. Accordingly he made a similar extract 
from a diluvial sandy soil where lupines were growing 
well, in which it might be supposed that the organisms 
peculiar in such a soil would be present ; and on the 
application of this to nitrogen-free soil, lupines grew in 
it luxuriantly and nodules were abundantly developed 
on their roots." 

At Kothamsted* experiments were made on the 
same lines, in 1888, with peas, blue lupines and yellow 
lupines; and in .1889, with changes suggested by the 
experiments of the preceding year, they were repeated 
with '^peas, red clover, vetches, blue lupines, yellow 
lupines and lucern," under the following conditions : 
For the lupines and lucern special glazed earthenware 
pots were made, fifteen inches deep and six inches in 
diameter, and for the other plants the pots were seven 
inches deep and about six inches in diameter. "There 
were four pots of each description of plant." Three 
of these were filled with clean-washed quartz sand, to 
which was added 0.1 per cent, of the ash of the plant to 



*A more detailed acconnt of these experiments, particularly in 
their relations to crop rotations, will be found in Popular Science 
Monthly for Feb. 1891, p. G91. 



16 



LAND DRAINING. 



be grown^ and 0.1 per cent, of calcium carbonate. To 
destroy all living organisms in this prepared soil it was 
kept for several days at a temperature of about 212°. 
A fourth pot for the lupines was filled with soil from a 
field where lupines were growing, to which was added 
0.01 per cent, of lupine ash. A fourth pot for each of 
the other plants was filled with garden soil. 

Seeds were sown to secure a uniform stand of two 
plants in each pot, and all were watered with distilled 
water. To one of the three pots of washed and sterilized 
quartz sand, for each kind of plant, no further addition 
was made, while the other two were inoculated, or 
seeded, with a soil-extract prepared as in Hellriegers 
experiments. For the lupine pots the extract was pre- 
pared from the soil of a field where lupines were grow- 
ing, and for the other plants the extract was prepared 
from a garden soil like that filling the fourth pot of 
each series. An analysis of these soil extracts showed 
that the elements of plant food they contained were so 
small in quantity that they could be safely ignored in 
summing up the results, and the effects of the extracts 
on the soil could only be attributed to the microbes with 
which they were seeded. 

The results of these experiments may be tabulated, 
as in table 2, showing the height of the two plants in 
each pot. 



TABLE 2. 



CONDIT'N OF SOIL IN POTS. 



HEIGHT OF Plants in Inches. 



Peas. 



14-50J 



Prepared quartz sand, not 
inoculated 

Prepared quartz sand, in- 
oculated 

Prepared quartz sand, in- 
oculated 52|-50| 

Garden soil for peas and Plants small- 
vetches— field soil for er than in the 

lupines inocul'd pots. 




Yellow lup'ns. 

24-18 
24-8 



16-18 



The peas, vetches and yellow lupines were harvested 
at the close of the season, and analyzed to ascertain the 



GENERAL PRII^OIPLES. 



17 




Fig. 1. Peas.* 



*Pots 1, 2 and 3 were filled with the prepared and sterilized quartz 
sand. Pot 1 was not inoculated. Pots 2 and 3 were inoculated 
with the microhes of a garden soil extract. Pot 4 was filled with a 
garden soil. 



18 LAJ^D DRAINIl^G. 

amount of nitrogen assimilated, and the nodules and 
root development were carefully examined. The blue 
lupines failed to grow, and the red clover and lucern 
were reserved for a second year's growth. Coj)ies of the 
photographs of the plants, taken when harvested, are 
given in figs. 1, 2 and 3. 

The limited growth of the plants in the sterilized 
quartz sand that was not inoculated with soil extract 
(pots 1, 9 and 17) was apparently determined by the 
amount of nitrogen in the seed, the soil itself being 
practically barren. There was but little root develop- 
ment in these pots, and no root-nodules could be found. 

In the pots of sterilized quartz sand seeded with the 
microbes of a Eoil extract (pots 2 and 3, fig. 1 — 10 and 
11, fig. 2, and 18 and 19, fig. 3), there was, on the 
other hand, abundant root development and numerous 
root-nodules. On the roots of the plants in the garden 
soil (pots 4, fig. 1, and 12, fig. 2), and on the roots of 
the lupine in the field soil (pot 20, fig. 3) some root- 
nodules were found, but they were not as numerous as 
on the roots in the inoculated quartz sand. 

The figures clearly show, as well as the tabulated 
results, that the growth of plants in a sterile quartz 
sand was materially increased by inoculation with the 
microbes of a soil extract. Another still more striking 
and suggestive fact is the failure of the plants in the 
garden and field soils to make as vigorous growth as was 
made in the inoculated quartz sand. These natural soils 
undoubtedly contained very much more of all of the 
elements of what we are accustomed to look upon as 
plant food, than the quartz sand, which, when seeded 
with microbes, proved to be the most productive, not- 
withstanding its original poverty of constitution. 

It is evident, from the results of these experiments, 
that the chemical composition of soils does not furnish 
evidence of fertility, even under conditions that appear 



GENERAL PRIi^ClPLES. 



19 




Fig. 2. Vetches.* 



*Pots 9, 10 and 11 with prepared (inartz sand, sterilized. Pots 10 
and 11 inoculated with garden soil extract. Pot 9 not inoculated. 
Pot 12 with garden soil. 



20 LAKD DEAINIl^G. 

to be favorable for the growth of plants, and that micro- 
oro-anisms in the soil are important factors in the elabo- 
ration of plant food. 

From what we now know in regard to soil metabo- 
lism and vegetable nutrition, the comparatively limited 



Fig. 3. Yellow Lupines.* 



growth of the plants in the garden and field soils (pots 
4, 12 and 20) can only be attributed to defective biolog- 
ical conditions. That the microbes, concerned in the 
appropriation of free nitrogen from the air permeating 



*Pots 17, 18 and 19 were fiUed with tlie prepared quartz sand. Pots 
18 and 19 were inoculated with the microbes of a field soil extract, and 
pot 17 was not inoculated. Pot 20 was filled with soil from a field 
where lupines were growing. 



GENEllAL PRINCIPLES. 21 

the soil, found less favorable conditions for growth and 
development in tbe garden and field soils, is shown by 
the smaller number of nodules on the roots of the plants 
growing in them, as already noticed, and yet it must be 
remembered that the sterile quartz sand was seeded with 
the microbes in a water extract prepared from these 
same natural soils. 

Again, the garden and field soils had a great appar- 
ent advantage over the prepared quartz sand in the com- 
bined nitrogen of the organic matters they contained ; 
but this was not made available, from the lack of suit- 
able conditions for the nitrifying microbes that were 
required to prepare it for the nutrition of plants, or 
from defective conditions for root distribution, or both, 
acting together. These biological defects of the garden 
and field soils were probably caused by physical condi- 
tions resulting from the manner in which they were 
packed in the pots, or by diminished porosity arising 
from the method of watering. 

Thus far, the relations of microbes to soil metabo- 
lism have been considered with reference to the nitrogen 
supplies of plant food, but there is evidence that the 
mineral constituents of soils undergo transformations 
resulting from the nutritive processes of microbes and 
the roots of plants. In my own experiments with soil 
microbes, the glass tubes in which cultures were made, 
under certain conditions of defective supply of lime and 
potash in the culture solutions, have been deeply etched 
as the result of their activities, and they also readily 
obtained their supplies of lime and potash from solid 
fragments of gypsum and feldspar. 

As a further illustration of biological activities in 
soil metabolism we should not fail to notice that the 
roots of plants themselves aid in the disintegration of 
soils, through their selective and digestive action upon 
the particles of soil with which they are in contact. In 



22 LAND DRAINING. 

Sachs' well known experiments the details of the root 
systems of beans, squashes, maize and wheat were clearly 
traced on polished plates of *' marble, dolomite (carbon- 
ate of lime and magnesia), magnesite (carbonate of mag- 
nesia) and osteolite (phosphate of lime)," by the fibrils 
and root-hairs that corroded the surfaces on which they 
were growing.* Dietrich found that the roots of 
*' lupines, peas, vetches, spurry and buckwheat assisted 
in the decomposition and solution of the basalt and 
sandstone/' presented for their action in the form of 
coarse powder, f 

In water-culture exporiments the plants appropriate 
the nitric acid of nitrate of potash, leaying behind the 
potash ; and ^^when ammonium chloride is employed to 
supply maize with nitrogen, this salt is decomposed, its 
ammonia assimilated, and its chlorine, which the plant 
cannot use, accumulates in the solution in the form of 
hydrochloric acid to such an extent as to proye fatal to 
the plant." J Whether the decomposition of these com- 
pounds is brought about directly by the roots of the 
plants themselves, or through the agency of micro- 
organisms in the culture solutions, has not been deter- 
mined, but in either case these changes must be recog- 
nized as the result of biological activities, that are of 
interest in their relations to soil metabolism. 

In every direction we find evidence that other fac- 
tors than the food supply of plants must be considered 
as having an influence on their vigorous growth and 
ultimate composition. From their inherited feeding 
habits, and the relations of the soil constituents to the 
metabolism and demands of their tissues at the time, 
plants seem to have the power to " take what they want, 
and when they want it, and are not induced to take 
more by the addition of larger supplies. " 

* Sachs 1. c, p. 625~How Crops Feed, p. 326. 

t How Crops Feed, p. 327. 

J How Crops Grow, new ed. 1890, pp. 184, 403. 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 23 

In the Rothamsted experiments with wheat and 
barley grown for a long series of years on the same land, 
under widely different conditions of manure supply, it 
was found that the percentage of nitrogen, potash and 
phosphoric acid in tlie dry substance of the grain was 
influenced more by the season than by the supply of 
these constituents in the soil, and that in favorable sea- 
sons, for the perfect maturing and ripening of the grain, 
its composition was quite uniform on the different plots, 
which presented marked contrast in the amount of the 
food constituents contained in the soil. There were 
greater variations in the composition of the straw, but 
the influence of seasons was maliifestly more significant 
in producing them than differences in the composition 
of the soils. 

From this review of some of the' biological factors 
of soil metabolism and vegetable nutrition it must be 
seen that the abundant supply of the elements of plant 
food in soils will not render them fertile or productive, 
unless favorable conditions are provided for the normal 
exercise of the vital, or physiological, activities of the 
living organisms (roots of plants and soil microbes) on 
which the selection and elaboration of the nutritive 
materials, in an available form, so largely depend. We 
can now profitably consider the relations of the different 
forms of water in the soil to these factors of soil metab- 
olism and plant growth. 



CHAPTER 11. 
Water ik Soils, akd Conseryatiok op Ei^EKGT. 

Water in the soil may be free, or in combination 
with its constituents. Free soil water may be conven- 
iently considered under three conditions, which have 
been designated by Professor S. W. Johnson as hydro- 
static, capillary and liygroscopic.^ 

Hydrostatic, or Drainage water is that which 
may percolate through the soil by gravitation, and be 
removed by draining, or, in case of undrained soils with 
a retentive sub-soil, it may be retained, forming the 
*' standing water" of the soil. The surface of this 
drainage water in the soil is called the ivater taUCy to 
which we shall frequently refer. 

Capillary Water is held in contact with the parti- 
cles of soils by capillary attraction, and gives the appear- 
ance of moisture in all fertile soils. 

Hygroscopic Water is in more intimate relations 
with the soil particles, and cannot be detected by the 
senses. Soils that are apparently dry from the escape 
of capillary water by evaporation, or otherwise, when 
exposed to a temperature of 212° for some time, lose 
weight from the loss of hygroscopic water. Capillary 
water is the chief source of the water absorbed by the 
roots of plants, but, under otherwise favorable condi- 
tions, vigorous plants are able to appropriate hygroscopic 
water, to some extent, when the capillary water is 
exhausted. 



How Crops Feed, p. 199. 

u 



WATER IN SOILS. 25 

Behavior of Drainage Water in Soils. As 

drainage, or hydrostatic, water cannot be used by farm 
crops, its influence on the soil and growing plants should 
be carefully studied. 

Available Depth of Soils. As only aquatic 
plants can grow in the retained drainage water of soils, 
the depth of available soil for the growth of farm crops, 
in soils that are not shallow from original poverty of 
constitution, will be determined by the distance of the 
water table below the surface. If the roots of upland 
plants penetrate below the level of the water table, or, 
if the water table is raised, by rains, to submerge roots 
already developed, they become unhealthy, and the 
plants accordingly suffer from defective nutrition, as 
pointed out in the preceding chapter. 

When the rainfall is in excess of evaporation the 
water table may be near, or even above, the general sur- 
face of the soil, as shown by standing puddles of water, 
and the soil, in this saturated condition, is entirely 
unfitted for the growth of valuable plants. In time of 
drouth the water table is lowered, to a greater or less 
extent, by evapoi-ation, but in the case of heavy or loamy 
soils this does not immediately restore the reclaimed soil 
to a favorable condition for growing crops. Heavy and 
loamy soils that have been saturated with water, and 
then dried by surface evaporation, have a compact 
arrangement of their particles, are not readily pulverized, 
and a considerable time is required to secure the perme- 
able and porous condition that will permit the circula- 
tion of capillary water, or a free distribution of the roots 
of plants, and furnish a favorable environment for the 
beneficial microbes that are needed to prepare plant food 
from the inert organic, or other materials, the soil may 
contain. The atmosphere is likewise excluded from the 
soil, through its defective porosity, and the supplies of 
oxygen, that are needed by the plants and absorbed by 



26 LAliTD DRAINING. 

their roots, are therefore cut off. Soils that are satu- 
rated with drainage water during the spring months, do 
not respond to the ameliorating influences of tillage, or 
the application of manures, from their defective physi- 
cal and biological conditions, and the resulting changes 
in soil metabolism may involve an actual loss of the ele- 
ments of fertility. In favorable seasons moderate crops 
may, perhaps, be grown, but in wet or cold seasons, or 
when severe drouths prevail, an entire failure of remu- 
nerative crops may be expected, and a reasonably high 
average of productiveness cannot be secured. 

Relations of Water to Soil Temperatures. The 
marked influence of hydrostatic, or drainage, water in 
lowering the temperature of soils, has often been 
observed, and it may be well to inquire how this effect is 
produced, as it will aid us in gaining clearer notions of 
the relations of soil water to the nutrition and growth 
of plants. In order to furnish a basis for a rational dis- 
cussion of the phenomena under consideration, attention 
must be given to some of the elementary principles of 
science relating to the various forms, and manifestations 
of energy. 

Conservation of Energy. That the forces of 
nature appear less mysterious as the progress of knowl- 
edge enables us to measure, and trace, their interdepend- 
ent relations, and refer them to a common law, is strik- 
ingly manifest in the recent extended applications of the 
principle of the conservation of energy, in, almost every 
department of science, and the productive arts. Energy 
has been defined as ^Hhe power of doing work, or of 
overcoming resistance." It "can neither be created, nor 
destroyed," but is manifest in a variety of mutually con- 
vertible forms, in accordance with what is now recog- 
nized as the law of the conservation of energy, which, 
according to Faraday, is "the highest law in physical 
science which our faculties permit us to perceive." 



WATER IN SOILS. 27 

This law is formulated by Maxwell as follows : 
"The total energy of any body, or system of bodies, is a 
quantity which can neither be increased nor diminished 
by any mutual action of these bodies, though it may be 
transformed into any one of the forms of which energy 
is susceptible." These forms of energy are known as 
motion, heat, liglit, electricity, magnetism, chemical 
affinity, etc., which, in the light of tliis law, may be 
looked upon as correlated and convertible terms. 

All forms of energy may readily be reduced to heat, 
and this, therefore, is the standard by which they all 
are measured. The heat required to raise the tempera 
ture of one pound of water one degree, is adopted as the 
unit of heat, and a unit for measuring work in terms of 
this heat-unit, is evidently needed in tracing the mani- 
festations of energy in its various transformations. 

We are indebted to Joule for the experimental 
demonstration of the law of conservation of energy, in 
his experiments to determine the mechanical equivalent 
of heat, which were carried on from 1840 to 1849, and 
again, with more exact methods for the purpose of veri- 
fication, from 1870 to 1877. He proved that the energy 
expended in raising a weight of one pound 772 feet (or 
a weight of 772 pounds one foot), was equivalent to the 
heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of 
water one degree, i. e., from 60° to 61° F. The unit of 
work is, therefore, 772 foot-pounds,* the mechanical 
equivalent of the heat unit. 

The conservation of energy was shown by reversing 
the process. When the weight of one pound falls 772 
feet (or a weight of 772 pounds falls one foot), and its 
motion is arrested, heat is produced that will raise the 
temperature of one pound of water one degree ; that is 

*Tlie French unit of heat is the amount required to raise tlie tem- 
perat<ire of one kilogram of water (2.2 lbs.) one ceutigi-ade degree 
in temperature ; and its mechanical equivalent is 424 kilogram-meters, 
or a weight of 424 kilograms raised one meter (3.28) feet. 



28 LA.ND DRAINING. 

to say, the beat expended in the work performed id rais- 
ing the weight, and the heat liberated in its fall, are 
strictly correlated and equal. The mechanical equiya- 
lent of heat (772 foot-ponnds) is the unit standard for 
measuring work, whether it is done by a machine, by 
animal power, or in the various operations of nature. 
As the heat unit is equivalent to 772 foot-pounds, the 
various forms of energy may be measured and expressed 
in heat-unit3, representing the energy expended, or, in 
foot-pounds, representing the work done. 

The applications of this law of conservation of 
energy have led to a revolution in the physical sciences, 
and they are now recognized as of equal importance in 
vegetable* and animal physiology, which are included in 
the general term, biology. We can no longer look upon 
the chemical changes, taking place in the arrangement 
and rearrangement of tlie elements entering into the 
composition of plants and animals, as the sole subjects 
of interest in their processes of nutrition and "growth. 
More than twenty-five years ago Dr. W. . B. Carpenter 
pointed out to physiologists the importance of distin- 
guishing between '^dynamical and material conditions; 
the former supplying the poiuer which does the work, 
whilst the latter affords the instrumental means through 
which that power operates," and the early prevailing 
chemical theories in ph;ysiology have gradually given 
place to broader views, in harmony with the universal 
law of the conservation of energy. 

At the present time the transformations of energy 
are accepted by physiologists as essential and significant 
factors in tbo vital activities and nutritive processes of 
all living beings. It is now known that the building up 
of the organic substance of plants and animals (con- 
structive metabolism) involves an expenditure of energy, 
and that a supply of energy is necessary for the main- 
tenance of life. 



WATER IN SOILS. 29 

The manifestations of energy, in the processes of 
plant growth, have been observed under conditions that 
fully demonstrate their significance as factors in vital 
activities from the mechanical effect produced. Presi- 
dent Clark, of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, 
placed a harness on a squash, so that a lever, to which 
weights could be attached, resting upon it, gave an 
equable pressure to the surface, and furnished the means 
of measuring the mechanical force exerted in its pro- 
cesses of growth. As the squash continued to grow, the 
weights suspended from the long arm of the lever were 
increased, until it was found capable of overcoming a 
resistance of 4,120 pounds.* 

In walking several times a day over a well-made 
asphalt sidewalk last summer, my attention was directed 
to a gradually increasing elevation of two places in the 
walk, each less than one foot in diameter, and about 
two rods distant from a Lombardy Poplar, growing on 
the adjacent grounds From day to day the elevation 
of these circumscribed areas became more marked, in 
spite of the resisting surface and the tramjnng they 
received from pedestrians, until a complete fracture of 
the asphalt was made, and sprouts from the roots of the 
tree, which had been pushing their way from below, 
made their appearance above the surface, and explained 
the apparent mystery as an incident in the ^'struggle 
for existence." The force exerted by the growing tips 
of these shoots cannot, of course, be expressed in foot- 
pounds, but if we take into account their small trans- 
verse section, and the character of the mass moved, it is 
evident, from the resistance overcome by them, in pro- 
portion to the area of their active surface, that the force 
exerted must have been enormous. 

Energy is not only required and expended in the 
work of building organic substances, but it is also stored 

*Mass. Ag. Rep't, 1874. p. 220. 



30 LAN^D DllATNING. 

up as a necessary condition of their constitution, in 
which form it is called potential energy. "A. weight 
requires work to raise it to a height, a spring requires 
work to bend it, air requires work to compress it, etc. ; 
but a raised weight, a bent spring, compressed air, etc., 
are stores of energy (i. e., potential energy), which can 
be made use of at pleasure," and in the same way the 
stored, or potential, energy of plants must be looked 
upon as representing the work performed in their pro- 
cesses of construction or growth. ^^By taking into con- 
sideration the amount of organic substance formed by a 
plant from its first deyelopment to its death, it is possi- 
ble to arrive at some idea of the amount of kinetic 
(active) energy which the plant has stored up in the 
potential form ; for the heat which is given out by 
burning the organic substance is but the conversion into 
kinetic (active) energy of the potential energy stored 
up in its substance ; it is but the reappearance of the 
kinetic energy which was used in producing the sub- 
stance. The heat, for instance, which is given out by 
burning wood or coal, represents the kinetic energy, 
derived principally from the sun's rays, by which were 
effected the processes of constructive metabolism, of 
which the wood or the coal was the product."* 

Eeference is here made to the active energy used in 
the strictly constructive processes of the plant, and does 
not include, as will be seen from what follows, the 
much larger expenditures of energy involved in inci- 
dental processes of plant growth. On the death and 
decomposition of both plants and animals, the energy 
that has been used in the constructive processes, and 
stored up in their tissues as potential energy, is liberated 
in the form of sensible heat. The heat developed in 
decaying masses of manure, and other organic materials, 
arises from the liberated potential energy of the organic 
substances, of which they are composed. 



*Art. Pliys. Encyl. Bvit., 9th ed., Vol. XIX, p. 56. 



WATEE IN SOILS. 31 

The energy required in the constructive processes of 
plants, as already pointed out, is derived chiefly from 
the heat and light of the sun, but it is supplemented by 
the potential energy of organic matters in the soil, which 
is liberated as heut, through the agency of the soil 
microbes concerned in their decomposition. In soil 
metabolism there is, therefore, not only an elaboration 
of available food for the nutrition of plants, but energy, 
in the form of heat, is liberated from the soil constitu- 
ents, which, under favorable conditions, may be again 
utilized, in warming the soil, and in the constructive 
processes of vegetable nutrition. 

It should be remarked, however, that the potential 
energy of all organic substances came originally from 
the ,heat and light of the sun, which must be recog- 
nized as the ultimate source of the energy of plants 
and animals. The energy required in the processes of 
constructive metabolism in animals, and the energy 
expended by them in work, is derived from the potential 
energy of the plants on which they feed, and this supply 
of energy is quite as essential to their nutrition and well- 
being, as the constituents of their food that are used in 
building up their tissues. The obvious significance of 
this fact in the philosophy of feeding we must pass with- 
out further notice. 

From what has already been presented in regard to 
the correlated manifestations of energy, it must be seen 
that the farmer is constantly dealing with it, not only 
in the constructive processes of nutrition of plants and 
animals, but in every interest and detail of farm man- 
agement, and that the profits of the farm must largely 
depend upon his skill and success in directing and con- 
trolling this prime factor in nature's operations. 

Energy of the Universe. The real significance 
of energy, as a factor in farm economy, cannot, however, 
be fully appreciated, without taking broader views, th.at 



32 LAKD DRAIi^II^G. 

embrace its relations to all natural pbenomena. Fi'om 
the law of conservation, as formulated by Maxwell, it 
appears that the energy of the universe is a constant 
quantity, that is neither increased nor diminished by 
the various changes of form it undergoes, and its terres- 
trial manifestations must therefore represent but a small 
part of the stupendous whole. 

The ubiquitous and interdependent transformations 
of energy are tersely stated by Tyndall as follows : "As 
surely as the force which moves a clock's hands is 
derived from the arm which winds up the clock, so 
surely is all terrestrial power drawn from the sun. 
Leaving out of account the eruptions of volcanoes, and 
the ebb and flow of the tides, every mechanical action 
on the earth's surface, every manifestation of power, 
organic and inorganic, vital and physical, is produced 
by the sun. His warmth keeps ihe sea liquid, and the 
atmosphere a gas, and all the storms which agitate both 
are blown by the mechanical force of the sun. He lifts 
the rivers and the glaciers up to the mountains, and 
thus the cataract and the avalanche shoot with an energy 
derived immediately from him. Thunder and lightning 
are also his transmuted strength. Every fire that burns, 
and every flame that glows, dispenses light and heat 
which originally belonged to the sun. In these days, 
unhappily, the news of battle is familiar to us, but every 
shock, and every charge, is an application, or misappli- 
cation, of the mechanical force of the sun. He blows 
the trumpet, he urges the projectile, lie bursts the bomb. 
And remember, this is not poetry, but rigid mechanical 
truth. He rears, as I have said, the whole vegetable 
world, and through it the animal ; the lilies of the field 
are his workmanship, the verdure of the meadow, and 
the cattle upon a thousand hills. He forms the muscle, 
he urges the blood, he builds the brain. His fleetness is 
in the lion's foot, he springs in the panther, he soars in 



WATER IN SOILS. 33 

the eagle, he glides in the snake. He builds the forest, 
and hews it down, the power Avhich raised the tree, and 
which wields the axe, being one and the same. The 
clover sprouts and blossoms, and the scythe of the 
mower swings, by the operation of the same force. The 
sun digs the ore from our mines, he rolls the iron, he 
rivets the plates, he boils the water, he draws the train. 
He not only grows the cotton, but he spins the fiber and 
weaves the web. There is not a hammer raised, a wheel 
turned, or a shuttle thrown, that is not raised, and 
turned, and thrown by the sun. His energy is poured 
freely into space, but our world is a halting place, where 
this energy is conditioned. Here the Proteus works hia 
spells ; the selfsame essence takes a million shapes and 
hues, and finally dissolves into its primitive and almost 
formless form. The sun comes to us as heat, he quits 
us as heat, and between his entrance and departure the 
multiform powers of our globe appear. They are all 
special forms of solar power — the moulds into which his 
strength is temporarily poured, in passing from its 
source through infinitude. 

'^Presented rightly to the mind, the discoveries and 
generalizations of modern science constitute a poem 
more sublime than has ever yet been addressed to the 
intellect and imagination of man. The natural philos- 
opher of to-day may dwell amid conceptions which beg- 
gar those of Milton. So great and grand are they, that 
in the contemplation of them a certain force of character 
is requisite to preserve us from bewilderment. Look at 
the integrated energies of our world — the stored power 
of our coal-fields ; our winds and rivers ; our fleets, 
armies and guns. What are they ? They are all gener- 
ated by a portion of the sun's energy, which does not 
amount to 2^oooWooo ^^ ^^^ whole. This, in fact, is 
the entire fraction of the sun's force intercepted by the 
earth, and, in reality, we convert but a small fraction of 
3 



34 LAND DRAINING. 

this fraction into mechanical energy. Multiplying all 
our powers by millions of millions, we do not reach the 
sun's expenditure. And still, notwithstanding this enor- 
mous drain, in the lapse of human history we are unable 
to detect a diminution of his store. Measured by our 
largest terrestrial standards, such a reservoir of power is 
infinite ; but it is our privilege to rise above these stand- 
ards, and to regard the sun himself as a speck in infinite 
extension, a mere drop in the universal sea. We analyze 
the space in which he is immersed, and which is the 
vehicle of his power. "We pass to other systems and 
other suns, each pouring forth energy like our own, but 
still without infringement of the law, which reveals 
immutability in the midst of change, which recognizes 
incessant transference and conversion, but neither gain 
nor loss. This law generalizes the aphorism of Solomon, 
that there is nothing new under the sun, by teaching us 
to detect everywhere, under its infinite variety of appear- 
ances, the same primeval force. To nature nothing can 
be added ; from nature nothing can be taken away; the 
sum of her energies is constant, and the utmost man can 
do in the pursuit of physical truth, or in the applications 
of physical knowledge, is to shift the constituents of the 
never-varying total, and out of one of them to form 
another. The law of conservation rigidly excludes both 
creation and annihilation. Waves may change to rip- 
ples, and ripples to waves; magnitude may be substi- 
tuted for number, and number for magnitude; asteroids 
may aggregate to suns, suns may resolve themselves into 
fl^ra and fauna, and flora and fauna melt in air, the 
flux of power is eternally the same. It rolls in music 
through the ages, and all terrestrial energy— the mani- 
festations of life, as well as the display of phenomena — 
are but the modulations of its rhythm."* 

*Heat as a Mode of Motion, N. Y. eel., 1863, pp. 41G-449. 



CHAPTER III. 

Eaikfall, Deaii^age and Evaporation. 

Tlie relations of evap'oration and drainage to rainfall 
must now be studied to obtain some of the data required 
in estimating the expenditures of energy in growing 
crops. Experiments to determine the amount of drain- 
age and evaporation from soils have repeatedly been 
made, but a small number of them, however, have been 
carried on for a sufficient length of time, especially in 
the United States, to be of assistance in settling general 
principles. The conditions that may have an influence 
on evaporation and drainage are so exceedingly complex, 
that a detailed examination of the available records 
which have been collated in the following tables, will be 
required to obtain results of practical value. 

As early as 1796 Dr. John Dalton, so well known to 
chemists as the author of the atomic theory, made a 
drain-gauge, consisting of a cylinder ten inches in diam- 
eter, and three feet deep, filled with soil, with arrange- 
ments for measuring the water passing through it. His 
observations for three years (1796-98) showed that on 
the average twenty-five per cent, of the rainfall was 
removed from the soil by drainage, and seventy-five per 
cent, by evaporation. The last two years, grass was 
allowed to grow on the soil of the gauge, which must 
have had an influence on the results,* The average 
annual rainfall at Manchester, where the experiments 
were conducted, is about thirty-six inches. This form 



*Meii. Lit. Pliil. Soc. of Manchester, Vol. V, pt. 2, as quoted in J. R. 
Ag. Soc, 1871, p. 130. 

35 



36 



LAND DRAINING. 



of drain-gauge, known as Dalton's gau^^e, was adopted 
by other experimenters, with some modifications of the 
apparatus, for collecting the drainage water. 

Mr. John Dickinson, of Abbots Hill, near King's 
Langiey, Herts, England, made experiments with a Dal- 
ton's gauge, the results of which may be profitably 
studied in detail. His gauge was twelve inches in diam- 
eter, and three feet deep, filled with a sandy, gravelly 
loam, on which grass was growing.* The rainfall was 
measured with a common rain-gauge. The prominent 
facts recorded by Mr. Dickinson are given in tables 3, 4, 
5 and 6, in convenient form to illustrate the observed 
variations in drainage and evaj^oration. 

TABLE 3. 

AVEKAGB RESULTS FOR EACH MONTH FOR EIGHT YEARS WITH DICK- 
INSON'S Drain-Gauge. 



Months. 

October 

November 

December 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

Totals and means 



Rani 
Inches. 



2.823 
3.837 
1.641 
1.847 
1.971 
1.G17 



Drain- 
age 
Inches. 



1.400 
3.258 
1.805 
1.307 
1.547 
1.077 



Evapora- 
tion 
Indies. 



1.423 
0.579 
—0.164 
0.540 
0.424 
0.540 



Drainage lEvapo't'n 
per c't. of per c't. of 
rainfall, rainfall. 



49.5 
84.9 
100.0+ 
70.7 
78.4 
66.6 



50.5 
15.1 
00.0 
29.3 
21.6 
33.4 



1.456 
1.856 
2.213 
2.287 
2.427 
2.639 



0.306 
0.108 
0.039 
0.042 
0.036 
0.369 



1.150 
1.748 
2.174 
2.245 
2.391 
2.270 



21.0 
5.8 
1.7 
1.8 
1.4 

13.9 



79.0 
94.2 
98.3 
98.2 
98.6 
86.1 



26.614 



11.294 



15.320 



42.4 



57.6 



The heaviest rainfall, it will be seen, was from June 
to November, and the drainage in the summer half 
of the year, from April to September, was very small. 
The average annual rainfall of but 26.6 inches was con- 
siderably below the average of the locality for a longer 
series of years. The comparatively large actual, and 
j)Grcentage of evaporation in the summer months, will 
likewise be noticed, with the increased drainage in the 



* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1844, p. 146. 



DRAINAGE AND EVAPORATION. 



87 



winter months, notwithstanding tlie smaller amount of 
rainfall. These variations must be attributed, in the 
main, to the higher summer temperature, which would 
increase the evaporation from the soil, and lead to a 
more rapid exhalation of water by the grass in its more 
vigorous growth. 

In December, it will be seen, the average drainage 
exceeded the rainfall for the month, and the evaporation, 
which is estimated as the difference between drainage 
and rainfall, falls to zero. Evaporation from the soil 
undoubtedly occurred, and while the drainage records 
may be accepted as correct, the estimated evaporation 
needs an indefinite correction, which will again be noticed 
in comments on another table. In table 4 the yearly 
variations in rainfall, drainage and evaporation are given. 

TABLE 4. 

Annual Vakiations in Rainfall, Drainage and Evaporation 
Observed by Dickinson. 



Years. 


Rain Inches. 


Drainage Inches. 


Evapo'tion Inches. 


1836 


31.00 


17.C5 


13.35 


1837 


21.10 


6.95 


14.15 


1838 


23.13 


8.57 


14.56 


1839 


31.28 


14.91 


16.37 


1840 


21.44 


8.19 


13.25 


1841 


32.10 


14:i9 


17.91 


1842 


26.43 


11.76 


14.67 


1843 


26.47 


8.16 


18.31 


Means 


26.61 


11.30 


15.32 



The annual rainfall varied from 21.10 inches to 
32.10 inches, a difference of 11 inches, and in several of 
the years there was evidently a severe drouth. The 
annual drainage varied from 6.95 to 17.65 inches, a dif- 
ference of 10.70 inches. The difference between the 
rainfall and drainage is accounted for as evaporation, 
and, on this assumption, the moisture of the soil should 
be the same at the beginning and the close of the exper- 
iments, which may not be the case. This element of 
error will not, however, materially affect the general 
averages of the above series of years. 



38 LAISTD drai:n"Ing. 

The eyaporation would, of course, be influenced by 
tlie mean temperature and humidity of the atmosphere, 
especially in the summer months, and the relative vigor 
of the growth of the grass on the soil of the gauge, 
besides other conditions which we need not notice here. 
The lowest evaporation recorded was 13.25 inches in 
1840, with the very low rainfall of 21.44 inches, and 
13.35 inches in 1836, with a rainfall of 31.00 inches. 
The highest amount of evaporation was 18.31 inches in 
1843, with a rainfall of but 26.47 inches, which is less 
than the average of the eight years. If these extremes 
(which we are unable to explain, in the absence of a 
record of the peculiarities of these seasons, as to tempera- 
ture, etc.) are omitted as exceptional, we find that in 
the remaining five years, with a rainfall ranging from 
21.10 to 32.10 inches, the evaporation varied from 14.15 
to 17.91 inches, a difference of only 3.76 inches, while 
the drainage varied from 6.95 to 14.91, a difference of 
nearly eight inches, from w^hich it appears that the 
evaporation is less influenced by the rainfall than the 
drainage. 

The averages by months and years do not, however, 
bring out all of the facts that are required to explain 
the real relations of rainfall and drainage, and the record 
is presented in another form in table 5, which will clear 
up some of the apparently anomalous results which are 
noticed above. 

The remarkable variations in the relations of drain- 
age and rainfall recorded in this table are suggestive. 
In 1841, the year of highest rainfall, 32.10 inches (or 
5.48 inches above the average), there was drainage from 
the Dal ton gauge in but four months of the year, namely, 
slightly more than half an inch in March, and an unu- 
sual amount in the last three months. In the first 
eight months of the year the rainfall was not quite 1.5 
inches above the average for the eight years, and this is 



DRAINA.GE AND EVAPORATION". 



39 



o 

g 
s 


April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September . 


October .... 
November.. 
December . . 

January 

February .. 
March 


o 




InS to to i-» O IC 


CO to to to OJ tf^ 


Rain 

Indies. 


M 


^1 o o o o o ^ 

Otl -J en O I-' W 4- 


to to to i-i CO CO 

bi b CO ^1 ^ c» 
— Hi- to tc ►»- to 


Drainage 
Inches. 




i-'OOI-'H'OI-' ObObOMtOH' 


Rain 
Inches. 


1 


C5 


PP P^i^^PP 

OtWOOOO h-^tootoooto 


Drainage 
Inches. 


w 

00 

3 


tOOtOtCOi-' H-' fcO O I-' OJ to 

-^ Oi Oi Oi ht^ en wi Ot c CO Oi 00 


Rain 
Inches. 


1 


P P 

WO COOOC 


to p p ►-' to ©Drainage 


J2 


CO oj rfi. oj I-' t-1 Hi h-' i-i CO rf^ t-i Rain 
^S^k^^8 §g;fe§^g Inches. 


» 


J-'OOpOO 

OCOC^iOl o^ 


ys^m 


Drainage 
Inches. 




to (-i l-i h-i to o 


o — CO o ►P' >-' 


Rain 
Indies. 


1 


2 

E 


oooooo 


H* CO Hi to 

oSgi32]o 


Drainage 
Inches. 


rf^ CO to CO i-* 1- 


-'MH^to*i><^'Rain 
ggg^^gjliiches. 






oooooo 


O tO*.Cn 

goog?5g 


Drainage 
Indies. 


CO 


rfi |_* C to H* O 


1 

?^ f* ^^ t-' P' I-' R;^in 
gS§?S^;^,luciies. 


to 


3? 


OOOOOO 


HI to o o or o Drainage 
gS§ 32 §y Inches. 


00 


p bOtOi-'Cn to 


o to — o to *- Rain 
^fekfefeg|I"clies. 


i 


PP 

oooE^;:2o 


h-l->OtOO 

o§^^^3 


Drainage 
Inches. 



I 

o o 

\f- o 

> 

o 

w 



40 hk^SD DEAINING. 

accounted for by the unusual rains of June, July and 
August (in which there was no drainage) ; while in the 
last four months it was more than four inclies above the 
average. In the last three months the rainfall was 2.68 
inches above the average, and the drainage was 2.68 
inches in excess of the rainfall, the unusually heavy rain 
of September (without any drainage in that month), 
having been partly accounted for a-s drainage in the fol- 
lowing months, and condensation of water from the 
atmosphere may, to some extent, have taken place. 

In the years of next highest rainfall, 31.00 inches 
in 1836, and 31.28 in 1839, there was drainage every 
month of the year, while in the remaining six years of 
the record (including 1841, the year of highest rainfall), 
drainage was entirely suspended from four to eight 
months. It will likewise be seen that in four years 
(1837, '38, '39 and '42) the drainage exceeded the rainfall 
in February or March, and m five years (1838, '39, '40, '41 
and '43) the drainage exceeded the rainfall in one or all 
of the last three months. In May, 1843, the highest 
rainfall in a single month (with the exception of Novem- 
ber, 1842) was accompanied with a drainage of only 0.74 
of an inch, the soil, from its deficiency of moisture dur- 
ing the preceding two months, having evidently absorbed 
and retained it. 

From the percentage columns of table 3, it might 
be inferred that a regular increase in drainage, and 
decrease in evaporation, from summer to winter, in both 
spring and fall, was the rule of general application ; but 
the more detailed record, in table 5, shows that the rela- 
tions of rainfall to drainage and evaporation are more 
complex than the figures of averages indicate. The dis- 
tribution of the rainfall throughout the year, the char- 
acter of prevailing winds, the temperature and humidity 
of the atmosphere, the capacity of soils to absorb and 
retain moisture, and the degree of luxuriance of the 



DKAINxVGE AND EVAPOKATION. 



41 



growing crops, are all factors in determining the results, 
tliat are readily recognized. As we have not the data 
for a satisfactory discussion of these causes of variation 
in the experiments under consideration, we can only 
notice them and pass on to examine the table of half- 
yearly averages. 

TABLE 6. 

Half-yearly averages, for each Year, and for the total 
Period of Eight Years, Observed by Dickinson. 





Winter half-year, 


October 


Summer half-year, April 






to March. 




to 


September. 


Years. 


Rain 


Drain af^e 


Evapo'tn 


Rain 


Drainage 


Evapo'tn 




Inches. 


Indies. 


Indies. 


Indies. 


Indies. 


Inches. 


1836 


18.80 


15.55 


3.25 


12.20 


2.10 


10.10 


1837 


11.30 


6.85 


4.45 


9.80 


0.10 


9.70 


1838 


12.32 


8.45 


3.85 


10.81 


0.12 


10.69 


1839 


13.87 


12.31 


1.56 


17.41 


2.60 


14.81 


1840 


11.76 


8.19 


3.57 


9.68 


0.00 


9.68 


1841 


16.84 


14.19 


2.65 


15.26 


0.00 


15.26 


1842 


14.28 


10.46 


3.82, 


12.15 


1.30 


10.85 


1843 


12.43 


7.11 


' 5.32 


14.04 


0.99 


13.05 


Means . . . 


13.95 


10.39 


3.56 


1 12.67 


0.90 


11.77 



In the winter half-year the rainfall varied from 
11.30 inches in 1837, to 18.80 inches in 1836, a differ- 
ence of 7.50 inches, while the drainage was from 6.85 to 
15.55 inches, a difference of 8.70 inches, and the range 
in evaporation was but 3.76 inches, or from 1.56 to 5.32 
inches. The average rainfall for the winter half-year 
was more than for the summer half-year, with about the 
same range of variation. In the summer half-year there 
was but little drainage, and in five of the eight years the 
rainfall and evaporation were both below the average, 
and it is probable that the evaporation was limited by 
the deficient supply of water in the soil, and that the 
water exhaled by the grass, growing on the gauge, was 
likewise diminished. The average evaporation for the 
summer half-year is about the same as from a bare soil 
in the Eothamsted experiments (table 9), and the aver- 
age rainfall is nearly three inches less. With a full sup- 
ply of water, the evaporation from the soil and growing 
crop should have been considerably more than the aver- 



42 



LAi^D DKAIN^ING. 



age recorded in the table. In the three years of highest 
rainfall, evaporation was from more than two, to nearly 
four, inches above the highest amount recorded in the 
five years of deficient rainfall. 

Mr. 0. Greaves made drainage experiments, at Lea 
Bridge, near London, England, for several years, that 
are of particular interest, as they illustrate the marked 
difference in soils in retaining water. He had two Dal- 
ton gauges, of slate, three feet square, and three feet 
deep; one was filled with sand, and '^the other with a 
mixture of soft loam, gravel and sand trodden in and 
turfed." Another tank three feet square and one foot 
deep was used to measure the evaporation from a water 
surface. The results of his experiments are given in 
table 7, copied in a modified form from the Rothamsted 
paper on ^^Rain and Drainage .Waters."* 

TABLE 7. 

Average Results of Experiments in Drainage and Evapora- 
tion FOR Fourteen Years (1860-73) by Mr. C. Greaves. 





Rainfall 
Inches. 


Drainage. 


Evaporation. 




Sand 
Inches. 


Turfed 

Soil 
Inches. 


Sand 
Inches. 


Turfed 
Soil 

Inches. 
2.215 
1.188 
0.914 
0.841 
0.511 
1.060 


Water 
Surface 
Inches. 


October 

November 

December 

January 

February 

March 


2.730 
2.021 

2.422 
2.870 
1.596 
1.936 


2.402 
1.963 
2.173 
2.734 
1.524 
1.605 


0.515 
0.833 
1.508 
2.029 
1.085 
0.879 


0.328 
0.058 
0.249 
136 
0.072 
0.334 


1.056 
0.707 
0.574 
0.761 
0.603 
1.065 


Totals, h'lf-yr. 


13.575 


12.401 


6.849 


1.177 


6.729 1 4.766 


Apri] 


1.428 
2.056 
2.205 
1.774 
2.332 
2.347 


1.117 
1.656 

1..572 
1.212 
1.783 
1.737 


0.275 
0.105 
0.156 
0.013 
0.113 
0.071 


0.311 
0.400 
0.633 
0.562 
0.549 
0.610 


1.153 
1.951 

2.049 
1.761 
2.219 
2.276 . 


' 2 098 


May 


2 753 




3.142 


July 


3 443 


Aug;nst 

September — 


2.850 
1.606 


Totals, irif-yr.i 12.142 


■ 9.077 1 0.733 


3.065 


11.409 1 15.892 


Whole year. .. 


25.717 


21.478 


7.573 


47242 


~r87l38"^ 


■"^0.658"" 



The very low water-holding power of the sand is 
shown in the large proportion of both summer and win- 
ter rainfall that appears as drainage water. The sum- 
mer evaporation from the sand averaged but 3.065 



^J. R. Ag. Soc, 1881, p. 325. 



DRAIIS^AGE Aiq^D EVAPORATION. 43 

inches, while the turfed soil averaged 11.409 inches, or 
nearly four times as much, and the winter evaporation 
from the sand averaged but 1.177 inches, against 6.TZJ 
inches from the turfed soil, or more than four times as 
much. With an average annual rainfall of 25.72 inches 
the sand evaporated, on the average, but 4.242 inches. 
*'The true amount of evaporation is probably, however, 
greater than this, as it is not very uncommon for the 
drainage from this gauge to exceed the rainfall, owing, 
as Mr. Greaves supposes, to condensation of water 
directly from the atmosphere. This excess of drainage 
over rain occurs most frequently in January and 
February. 

*^0n the turfed soil the amount of evaporation from 
January to March is very similar to that observed on the 
bare soil at Rothamsted ; but from April to September 
— the growing season of the grass — practically no drain- 
age takes place, nearly the whole of the rainfall being 
evaporated. Drainage-water was, indeed, collected in 
July and August only on two, in June on three, and in 
May and September on four, occasions during the four- 
teen years. The average amounts evaporated from the 
turf during summer, winter, and the whole year, 
namely, 11.409, 6.729 and 18.138 inches, are very sim- 
ilar to those noted at Rothamsted (for ten years, 1870- 
1880) ; they are so, however, simply from the very mod- 
erate amount of rainfall supplied to the soil. In the 
wet summer of 1860, 15.608 inches were evaporated by 
the turf in six months ■ iiid in the wet season of 1872, 
the evaporation during twelve months reached 25.141 
inches. There is, thus, but little constancy in the amount 
of evaporation, which depends largely on the amount of 
rainfall, and on the activity of vegetation. With a 
heavier rainfall we should doubtless obtain more con- 
stant figures. 

^^The figures representing the evaporation from a 
water surface are full of interest. The average summer 



44 LAND DRAINING. 

evaporation is 15,892 inches; that for the winter 4.766 
inches; the total for the year 20.658 inches. The 
amount of variation is considerable. In 1862 the annual 
evaporation was only 17.332 inches; in the hot season 
of 1868 it reached 26,933 iuches. There are some obvi- 
ous reasons why the evaporation from a water surface 
should be more variable than that from a bare soil. On 
a water surface, sunshine and wind must always produce 
their full effect, while on soil, evaporation receives a 
check as soon as the surface is dried. Another disturb- 
ing cause in Mr. Greaves' determinations has been the 
variable condensations from the atmosphere, making the 
winter evaporations appear lower than they really are."* 
The draining experiments of Mr. Dickinson, already 
described, were continued by Mr. John Evans, with 
*^two Dalton drain gauges, consisting of cast-iron cylin- 
ders three feet in depth and eighteen inches in diameter ; 
one is filled with the surface soil of the neighborhood, 
the other with fragments of chalk ; both bear a growth 
of grass." These experiments are summarized, in the 
Eothamsted paper quoted above, as follows: ^^Mr. 
Evans' experiments are even more striking examples of 
the disturbing action of vegetation than those of Mr. 
Greaves. The average rainfall during fifteen years has 
been 25.55 inches. Throughout this period the absence 
of drainage from the turfed soil, during the summer 
months, has been even more complete than in Mr. 
Greaves' experiments. The summer drainage from the 
turfed soil has averaged 0.35 inches, the evaporation 
12.12 inches. The winter drainage has been 5.23 inches, 
the evaporation 7.85 inches. In the whole drainage- 
year the average drainage has been 5.38 inches, the evap- 
oration 19.97 inches. The summer evaporation, how- 
ever, actually ranges from 7.59 to 16.09 inches, and that 
of the whole year from 13.20 to 26.55 inches. This 

* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1881, pp. o25, 326. 



DRAINAGE AND EVAPOHATION. 45 

wide range in the amount of evaporation is, in part, due 
to the insufficient supply of rain. The full evaporating 
power of the turf has, perhaps, not yet been shown, the 
whole of the rainfall having been evaporated, even in 
the wettest summer of the fifteen years. In these experi- 
ments the distribution of the rain has a marked effect 
on the amount of drainage. Eainfalls not sufficiently 
heavy to penetrate the turf are probably evaporated, 
while those passing the turf appear, more or less, as 
drainage. "In the percolator filled with chalk the 
average annual drainage has been 8.79 inches, and the 
evaporation 16.76 inches. In this case the soil would 
probably be less compact, and the growth of grass less 
vigorous than in the percolator filled with arable soil ; 
the drainage is, therefore, naturally larger, and the 
evaporation less." 

The Eothamsted experiments relating to drainage 
and evaporation, which have been carried on under defi- 
nite conditions since 1870, may be profitably studied, as 
they furnish the most satisfactory data for tracing the 
influence of excessive rainfall and severe drouths, on 
the final disposition of soil water. The drainage exper- 
iments have been supplemented with investigations of 
the moisture retained by soils under different conditions 
of cropping and rainfall, and the amount of water 
exhaled by plants in their process of growth. 

In 1870 three drain-gauges were made,* each having 
an area of one-thousandth of an acre (72x87.12 inches), 
and respectively 20, 40 and 60 inches deep. It was well 
known that soils that had been disturbed could not be 
repacked, so that their normal conditions, or relations, 
to water percolating through them could be secured. 
This defect of the Dalton gauges was obviated in the 
construction of the Eothamsted drain-gauges, by build- 
ing the walls of the gauges of bricks and cement around 

* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1881, p. 269. 



46 



LAND DRAIKIKG, 



the mass of soil, without disturbing it, so that the 
gauges, when completed, were filled with soil in its nat- 
ural condition. The surface soil, of ''somewhat heavy 
loam," had been cultivated to the depth of eight inches ; 
below this was ten inches of friable clay, followed by a 
subsoil of rather stiff clay. "The land had previously 
been under the ordinary arable culture of the farm." 
The soil of the gauges was ''kept bare of vegetation," 
and represented the conditions of a naked fallow. 

TABLE 8. 

ROTIIAMSTED RAINFALL, DRAINAGE AND EVAPORATION. MONTHLY 

AND ANNUAL AVERAGES IN INCHES, AND PERCENTAGE 

OF RAINFALL. 



1 I'a.nfall. |XJra;n^age. «e^n^„t|| Evaporation. 


Av.of preceding 19 

yrs. Sept., 1851 to 

Aug. 1870. 


Averages of eighteen years, Sept., 1870, 
to Aug., 1888. 




Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 

1.73 
2.16 
1.97 
2.13 
1.54 
, 0.82 


Per ct. of 
rainfall. 


Inches. 


Per ct. of 
rainfall. 


October 

November 

December 

January 

February 

March 


3.05 

2.17 
1.88 
2.64 
1.50 
1.67 


3.33 
3.04 
2.50 
2.58 
2.11 
1.68 


51.95 
71.05 

78.80 
82.56 
72.99 

48.81 


1.60 

0.88 
0.53 
0.45 
0.57 
0.86 


48.05 
28.95 
21.20 
17.44 
27.01 
51.19 


Totals, h'lf-yr. 


12.91 


15.24 


10.35 


67.91 


4.89 


32.09 


April .' 


1.76 
2.35 
2.45 
2.51 
2.70 
2.36 


2.24 
2.16 
• 2.58 
2.82 
2.46 
2.95 


0.75 
0.51 
0.66 
0.62 
0.60 
0.90 


33.48 
23.61 
25.58 
21.99 
24.39 
30.51 


1.49 
1.65 
1.92 
2.20 
1.86 
2.05 


66 52 


May 


76.39 




74 42 


July 


78 01 


August 

September — 


75.61 
69.49 


Totals, h'lf-yr. 


14.13 


15.21 


4.04 


26.^6 


11.17 


73.44 


Annual 


27.04 


30.45 


14.39 


47.26 


16.06 


52.74 ■ 



NINETEENTH DRAINAGE, OR HARVEST YEAR, Oct., 1888, to Sept., 1889. 



October 




1.09 
4.45 
1.69 
1.29 
1.95 
1.89 


0.06 
3.44 
1.55 
0.90 
1.63 
0.83 


5.50 
77.30 
91.72 
69.77 
83. .59 
43.92 


1.03 
1.01 
0.14 
0.39 
0.32 
1.06 


94.50 






22.70 






8.28 


January 




30.25 






16.41 


Marcli 




56.08 


Totals, h'lf-yr. 


1 12.36 


8.41 


68.04 


3.95 


31.96 


April 




2.47 
5.00 
1.38 
5.67 
2.18 
2.44 


0.37 ■ 

3.08 

0.47 

2.48 

0.05 

0.71 


14.98 
61.60 
34.06 
43.74 
2.29 
29.10 


2.10 
1.92 
0.91 
3.19 
2.13 
1.73 


85.02 


Mav 




38.40 


June . 




65.94 


July 




56.26 


August 




97.71 


September .... 




70.90 


Totals, h'lf-vr 


18.84 


7.16 


^3X00- 


11.68 


62.00 


Year 


1 


I 31.10 


15.57 


50.06 


15.53 


49.94 



DRAINAGE AND liVAPOKATiON. 47 

The average results obtained with these gauges for 
each month for eighteen years, and a separate record for 
each month of the nineteenth drainage, or harvest year, 
are given in table 8, together with the totals in half- 
yearly periods, and the annual averages and percentages.* 

A ram-gauge of the same area — one-thousandth 
of an acre — was likewise made in the vicinity of the 
Rothamsted drain-gauges. 

It will be seen that the average annual and half- 
yearly ramfall of the eighteen years of the drainage 
experiments, was considerably above the average of the 
preceding nineteen years, as recorded in the first column 
of the upper half of the table, the average annual excess 
being over three inches. As in the experiments of Mr. 
Dickinson and Mr. Greaves, the average drainage in the 
six summer months is very much less than the winter 
drainage, but these averages do not fully represent the 
real differences that sometimes occurred. In 1887 there 
was practically no drainage in the months of July, 
August and September; and in January, 1881, Decem- 
ber, 1884, January and February, 1886, and March, 1888,. 
the drainage was in excess of the rainfall, and in other 
winter months the drainage was ^^far above the normal 
proportion of the rainfall." 

The difference between the rainfall and the drainage, 
in all of the tables, is assumed to represent the evapora- 
tion, but it will be seen that, if the preceding period 
had been very dry, a portion of the rainfall would be 
retained in the dry soil, and the figures in the column 
headed evaporation would therefore represent this 
retained water, and the evaporation proper, or, in other 
words, the estimated evaporation, would be too high for 
the particular period. Notwithstanding this element of 
error, tending to exaggerate the evaporation in a given 
period, it appears that the estimated evaporation varies 
but little, as compared with the rainfall and drainage. 

* Memoranda of "Field and other Experiments," June, 1890, p. 9. 



48 LAND DRAINING. 

On the average for eighteen years, the rainfall for 
the six summer months was 15.21 inches, and the evap- 
oration 11.17 inches. In 1888-9, however, the rainfall 
of the summer months was 18.84 inches, or 3.63 inches 
above the average, and the drainage was 7.16 inches, or 
3.12 inches above the average, while the evaporation, 
which must have been favored by the larger supply of 
water in the soil, was but 11.68 inches, or only half an 
inch above the average. In the first, or winter half, of 
the year, the rainfall and drainage were both below the 
average, and the increased rainfall of the year was evi- 
dently owing to the excessive rains of May and July, 
that were more than twice the usual amount, resulting 
in 4.43 inches of drainage above the average for the two 
months, with an increase in the estimated evaporation 
of only 1.26 inches. 

Under the climatic conditions at Eothamsted, with 
a mean annual temperature of about 48°, and a mean 
temperature of 61° for July and August, the estimated 
evaporation from a bare soil, in the six summer months, 
appears to be quite uniformly between eleven and twelve 
inches, while the annual evaporation is about sixteen 
inches. The amount of drainage, therefore, apparently 
depends, in the main, on the amount of rainfall in 
excess of this normal demand for evaporation. In table 
9 the results for each year and half-year are given, in 
which the relations of drainage to rainfall will be more 
fully illustrated. For convenience of reference the years 
are arranged in order according to the amount of annual 
rainfall. 

The wide range of rainfall from 22.94 inches in 
1873-4, to 42.72 inches in 1878-9, with an annual aver- 
age of 30.63 inches, shows that the period embraced in 
the table included seasons of extreme drouth and of 
excessive rainfall. In the winter months the rainfall 
varied from 7.03 to 21.77 inches,- with an average of 



DRAINAGE AKD EVAPORATION^. 



49 





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50 LAIfB DEAIKING. 

15.09, and in the summer months the range was from 
7.59 to 25.75 inches, with an average of 15.54 inches. 
The drainage for the year varied from 4.97 to 25.86 
inches, with an average of 14.65 inches; the winter 
drainage varied from 3.92 to 17.77 inches, with an aver- 
age of 10.28 inches; while the summer drainage ranged 
from 0.71 to 12.27 inches, with an average of 4.37 inches. 

The figures in the table representing evaporation 
are obviously incorrect in several instances, when the 
rainfall was below the average. For example, the esti- 
mated evaporation of 19.69 inches in 1870-71, is undoubt- 
edly too high, as the drain-gauges were built in 1870, 
and the blocks of earth would become unusually dry 
from exposure, by the trenches which were dug around 
them for the construction of the walls. The difference 
between the rainfall and drainage, in the first year of 
the experiment, may therefore be partly accounted for 
in the water absorbed by the soil to restore its normal 
amount of moisture, and it could not all be fairly reck- 
oned as evaporation. 

Again, the two years in which the annual evapora- 
tion is stated to be considerably below the average, viz., 
11.96 inches in 1886-87, and 12.13 inches in 1884-85, 
are years of severe summer drouth, with abnormally low 
evaporation from deficiency of soil moisture. Neglect- 
ing these extremes, as exceptional and readily explained, 
we find the range of variation in the annual evaporation 
is from 13.57 to 18.63 inches, a difference of 5.0 inches, 
while the rainfall varies nearly 20 inches, and the drain- 
age more than 20 inches. 

Looking at the summer evaporation as the most 
important, we find that the summer rainfall was more 
than an inch below the average in the years 1874, '87, '84, 
'72, '85, '73 and '83, the evaporation, according to the table, 
ranging from 6.88 to 12.50 inches. In three of these 
years the estimated evaporation is probably too high, 



DRAIN-AGE AND EVAP0RATI0:N-. 51 

from a neglect of soil absorption to supply the deficiency 
from preceding drouths, while four of the seven years' 
evaporation was abnormally low from a deficiency of 
water in the soil during the summer. 

In the remaining twelve years of the table the rain- 
fall, averaging 17.53 inches (two inches above the aver- 
age), varied from 14.43 to 25.75 inches, a difference of 
11.32 inches; the drainage varied from 3.14 to 12.27 
inches, a difference of 9.13 inches, and the evaporation 
from 10.99 to 13.48 inches, a difference of only 2.49 
inches, while the average summer evaporation for these 
years is 11.85 inches, or only 0.68 inches above the 
average for the nineteen years. 

This agrees with the conclusions reached in remarks 
on table 8, that the evaporation from a bare soil is a 
comparatively constant quantity, while the variations in 
rainfall are accompanied with corresponding variations 
in drainage. The annual and half-yearly averages are 
not materially affected by any corrections we can make 
for known causes of error. 

In the United States there is a wide range of cli- 
mate, with extended areas in which the rainfall and 
mean summer temperature is much higher than where 
these experiments were made, and the results obtained 
will undoubtedly be modified by the comparatively 
intense climatic conditions that prevail here. 

In the United States census report of 1880 it is 
stated that the average annual rainfall is from thirty- 
five to fifty inches, where 62. 7 per cent, of the wheat is 
grown, and that 86.8 per cent, of the corn is grown 
with an average rainfall of thirty to fifty inches, and 
63.4 per cent, where it is from thirty-five to forty-five 
inches. 

As to temperature, more than 87.1 per cent, of the 
wheat and corn are grown where the mean July temper- 
ature is between 70° and 80°, and 38.9 per cent, of the 



52 LAKD DEAIKIXG. 

wheMt, and 54.8 per cent, of tlie corn, are grown where 
the July mean is between .75° and 80°. The extent to 
which these conditions of abundant rainfall and high 
summer temperature influence the relative drainage and 
evaporation from the soil, has not been definitely deter- 
mined, but the evidence that has thus far been obtained, 
seems to show that they are both materially increased. 

In Mr. G-reaves' experiments (table 7), the evapora- 
tion from a water surface averaged 20. 6Q inches annually 
for a period of fourteen years. At Whitehaven, in the 
extreme northwest of England, where the annual rain- 
fall averages 45.25 inches, and there are more cloudy 
days than in the vicinity of London, the annual evapo- 
ration for six years was reported to average 30.03 
inches.* In a paper by Hon. George Geddes,t it is 
stated, on the authority of Daltou, that the annual evap- 
oration from a water surface, in England, is 44.43 inches, 
but from the results of the experiments of Mr. Greaves, 
and at Whitehaven, quoted above, this is probably 
too high. 

According to the estimates of Blodget, the annual 
evaporation -from a water surface is twice as active in 
the United States as in England, but it must vary 
widely in different localities. It is said to be fifty-six 
inches at Salem, at Cambridge, and at Boston, Mass., 
on the authority of several individuals, but whether 
these statements are based on experiments at the three 
places, or are estimates from the same data, does not 
appear. It would be remarkable to obtain the same 
exact figures in experiments on evaporation, at three 
places, even in the same vicinity. The average rainfall 
at Boston is about forty-seven inches. 

In the paper by Mr. Geddes, a record of the rain- 
fall and evaporation for each month of the entire year, 

*Bloflget'.s Climatology of U. S., p. 227. 

tN. Y. Agl. Kept., 1854, p. 159. Farm Drainage, by French, p. 73. 



DEAINAGR AND EVAPORATION". 



53 



at Ogdensburgh, by Mr. Coffin, in 1838, and at Syracuse, 
JN". Y., by Mr. Conkey, in 1852, is of particular interest, 
from the close agreement in the evaporation, under wide 
differences in rainfall. These records are copied in full 
in table 10, with the months in different order, to show 
the seasonal yariations. 

TABLE 10. 

Rainfall and Evaporation from a Water Surface, Observed 

AT OGDENSBURG, and SYRACUSE, N. Y. 



January . . . 
Febniary . . 

March 

October 

November. 
December . 



Winter montlis, or h'lf-y: 



April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 



Summer mo's, or ]ial£-yr. 



Ogdensb'g, N. Y., 1838. 
Rain Evapor't'n 



Inches. 
2.36~ 
0.97 
1.18 
2.73 
2.07 
1.08 



Inches. 



1.652 
0.817 
2.067 
3.1348 
3.659 
1.146 



10.39 I 13.289 



0.40 
4.81 
3.57 
1.88 
2.55 
1.01 



14.22 



Totals for tlie year 



24.61 



1.625 
7.100 
0.745 
7.788 
5.415 
7.400 



30.073 



49.362 



Syracuse, N. Y., 1852. 



Ram 
Inches. 
37673"" 
1.307 
3.234 
4.620 
4.354 
4.112 



Evapor't'n 
Inches, 



0.665 
1.489 
2.239 
3.022 
1.325 
1.863 



21.300 



10.603 



3.524 
4.491 
3.773 
2.887 
2.724 
2.774 



3.421 
7.309 
7.600 
9.079 
6.854 
5.334 



20.173 



39..597 



41.473 I 50.200 



It is remarkable that with a rainfall for the year of 
24.61 inches in 1838, at Ogdensburgh, and of 41.47 
inches in 1852, at Syracuse, a difference of 16.86 inches, 
indicating considerable difference in the general char- 
acter of the two seasons, the evaporation for the year 
differs but 0.84 of an inch. 

In 1838, at Ogdensburgh, evaporation from a water 
surface was 24.75 inclies more than the rainfall, or over 
twice as much, and January and February were the only 
months in which it was less than the rainfall ; while the 
summer evaporation was 21.85 inches in excess of the 
rainfall. 

At Syracuse, in 1852, the evaporation for the year 
was but 8.73 inches above the extraordinary rainfall, 
while the summer evaporation was 19.42 inches more 



54 



LAKD DRAINING. 



than the rainfall. On comparing the colder with the 
warmer months, we find, in both years, that the winter 
evaporation is much less, and that it varies more from 
month to month than in the summer season. 

Dr. K. 0. Kedzie, of the Michigan Agricultural 
College, found the evaporation from a water surface, 
from March 15, to November 15, 1865, was 30.85 inches, 
the rainfall being 24.35 inches, or 6.5 inches less than 
the evaporation. These observations on a water surface 
all seem to indicate that evaporation is more active in 
this country than in England, and that there is proba- 
bly, in most localities, a larger amount of water evapo- 
rated from soils, than in the drainage experiments we 
have examined. Quite a number of drain-gauges have 
been made in this country, but observations have not 
been conducted for a sufficient length of time to estab- 
lish any principles relating to drainage and soil evapora- 
tion, under our peculiar climatic conditions, and general 
principles appear to be safer guides than erratic and 
imperfect experiments. 

At the Geneva, New York, experiment station, 
three drain-gauges, a little more than twenty-five inches 
square, and three feet deep, were made by inclosing a 

TABLE 11. 
DRAINAGE AND EVAPORATION AT GENEVA, IST. Y. 



Surface condition of soil of 
gauges. 


Drainage. | 


Evapoi*ation. 


Inches. 


Per c. of 
rainfall. 

14.6 
29.3 
36.1 


Inches. 

20.26 
16.77 
15.15 


Per c. of 
rainfall. 


No. 1. Sod 


3.46 
6.95 
8.54 


85.4 


No. 2. Bare and undisturbed. 
No. 3. Bare and cultivated. .. 


70.7 
63.9 


Mean of the three gauges 1 6.33 | 26.6 


17.39 


73.4 



soil of dark clay loam, and tenacious subsoil, in its 
natural condition. The natural turf was allowed to 
remain on one of the gauges ; another was kept bare of 
vegetation ; while the third was kept bare, and frequently 
stirred with a trowel to a depth of one inch, during the 



DRAINAGE AND EVAPORATION. 55 

open season. A detailed report of the observations 
made with these gauges has not, so far as I know, been 
published, but the average results for five years (1882-87) 
are given in table 11, the average annual rainfall for the 
five years being but 23,72 inches.* 

The results here recorded were undoubtedly modi- 
fied by the exceptional seasons embraced in the period. 
The annual rainfall at Hobart college, Geneva, one mile 
and a half from the station, averaged^ for twelve years, 
29.91 inches, so that the average of 23.72 inches observed 
at the station must be considered as decidedly below the 
normal. Two-thirds of the rain, or 15.85 inches, on the 
average, fell in the summer months, the average for 
July being 4.15 inches, and for August 3.03 inches, and 
yet there was, practically, no drainage in either of these 
months, and but 1.17 inches in the remaining summer 
months, and in 1887 there was a rainfall of 6.37 inches 
in July, and 3.03 inches in August, without drainage 
from the gauge with sod. The mean temperature of 
April, May, June and July, in 1885, '86 and '87, was 
above the average for the twelve years observed at Hobart 
college, and this average is several degrees above the 
mean of the summer months at Rothamsted, and yet 
the evaporation at Geneva, from the bare soil, was but 
0.79 of an inch for the entire year, and 0.96 of an inch 
for the summer months, above the average at Rotham- 
sted. In two of the five years, at least, at Geneva, the 
rainfall of the three warmest months must have been 
insufficient to supply the water required for the normal 
amount of evaporation. Taking all of these facts 
together, it appears probable that the evaporation 
recorded in the table, representing the difference between 
the rainfall and drainage, is considerably less than woul 
appear with a more abundant rainfall. 



*6th Ann. N. Y. Exp. St. Kept., 1887, p. 397. 



56 



LAND DRAINING. 



The larger amount of drainage from gauge No. 3, 
over that from gauge No. 2, may perhaps be attributed, 
in part, at least, to an absorption of moisture from the 
atmosphere, by the more porous surface of the soil in 
gauge No. 3, and it is likewise probable that the evapo- 
ration from the soil was not actually less than from 
gauge No. 2. The influence of the sod, in diminishing 
the drainage and increasing the apparent evaporation, 
will also be noticed.* 

Summary and Conclusions. 

The leading facts and inferences from the experi- 
mental evidence, relating to drainage and evaporation, 
that has been presented, may be summarized as follows : 
The amount of water evaporated from the soil, in a 
given case, will depend upon a variety of conditions, the 
most important of which, in their relations to farm 
drainage, are the uniform abundance of the soil supply 
of water, the mean summer temperature and relative 



*Siiicetlie above was written, the record of these gauges for 1889 
has been received. The rainfaU for the year was 32.90 inches, or con- 
siderably above the average, and the drainage and estimated evapora- 
tion was as follows : 





Drainage. 


Evaporation 


Surface condition of soil of 
gauges. 


Inches. 


Per c. of 
rainfall. 


Inches. 


Per c. of 
rainfall. 


No 1 Sod • 


12.38 
13.47 

14.40 


37.63 
41.55 
43.77 


20.52 
19.43 
18.50 


62.37 


No. 2. Bare and undisturbed. 
No. 3. Bare and cultivated . . 


58.45 
56.23 


Mean of the three gauges 


13.42 1 40.79 


19.48 


59.21 



The drainage is decidedly increased, and the evaporation from the 
bare soil gauges, and the average of the three gauges is more than two 
inches higher than the five year averages in table 11 The rainfall in 
June was 7.47 inches, and in July 4.56 inches, or very much above the 
normal in botli cases, which will, in part, account for the increase in 
drainage. If the unusual rainfall for the year had been evenly dis- 
tributed, a larger proportion would probably have been disposed of 
by evaporation. 



DRAIN^AGE AND EVAPORATION. 57 

humidity of the atmosphere, the capacity of the soil to 
absorb and hold capillary water, and the luxuriance of 
the growing crop. 

Evaporation from a naked, well drained soil will be 
less than from the same soil, on which crops are grow- 
ing, and a still larger amount will be taken up from an 
exposed water surface, or from a water-logged soil, 
under conditions otherwise the same. In a given local- 
ity, where the rainfall is not absolutely deficient, or, 
approximately stated, does not fall below about thirty 
inches in the year, the average evaporation from a bare 
soil remains comparatively constant, while the drainage 
varies widely with the amount of rainfall. 

Under the climatic conditions in England, when 
the rainfall is not below the average, the results of 
recorded experiments indicate that the mean annual 
evaporation from a well-drained bare soil is about sixteen 
inches ; from a soil where crops are growing, at least 
twenty inches; and from a water surface it may be esti- 
mated at about thirty inches. 

In the grain-growing area of the United States the 
mean annual temperature ranges from the mean in Eng- 
land, to over 16° higher; and the mean mid-summer 
temperature, which is, of course, the most important as 
a factor in evaporation, is from 5° to 24° higher than in 
England. From the comparatively high mid -summer 
temperature of the grain-growing States, it may fairly 
be assumed that the average evaporation is considerably 
above that observed in England, and the experiments on 
the evaporation from a water surface seem to indicate 
that this increase may amount to nearly, if not quite, 
fifty per cent. 

In the absence of any extended experiments, like 
those at Eothamsted, we can only make approximate 
estimates of the annual evaporation, under different con- 
ditions, in our comparatively intense climate. From 



58 LAND draini:n^g. 

tlie evidence that is available it may, however, be safe to 
estimate the average evaporation from a well-drained 
bare soil at, at least, twenty inches ; from the same soil, 
with a growing crop of average luxuriance, at about 
twenty-four inches ; and from a water surface, or water- 
logged soil, at from thirty-five to fifty inches, or more. 
With a rainfall considerably below thirty inches, the soil 
evaporation may be somewhat - less, from deficiency of 
soil moisture, but even this must depend, to some 
extent, upon the distribution of rain throughout the 
season, and the amount falling in single showers, or 
within a few hours. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Energy ik Evaporation. 

A supply of energy in the form of heat has already 
been noticed as among the indispensable conditions of 
plant growth, and we now have to consider its relations 
to evaporation, and the temperature of soils. The real 
significance of the manifestations of energy that are ever 
present in nature's operations, and especially in the 
quiet, unobtrusive work performed in the growth and 
nutritive activities of plants and animals, cannot be fully 
appreciated without making a quantitative estimate of 
the constructive forces involved in these familiar pro- 
cesses. In order to estimate, with an approximate degree 
of accuracy, the energy expended in these organic 23ro- 
cesses, it will be necessary to consider the work per- 
formed in several distinct operations, which are, never- 
theless, closely correlated in producing the final result. 

Evaporation of Soil Water. Water is evapo- 
rated from all soils, more or less rapidly, and to a greater 



EI^ERGT IN EVAPORATION. 59 

or less extent, and the amount so disposed of will vary 
widely with soil and atmospheric conditions. As the 
transformation of water into vapor involves an expendi- 
ture of energy, in the form of heat, which, as we have 
seen, is one of the most important factors in the growth 
of farm crops, the problem of its control and utilization 
in profitable production, as far as it can be made avail- 
able, is one of the most interesting in the applications of 
science in farm economy. 

Energy in Evaporation. The amount of heat 
used in the work of evaporating soil-water is a matter of 
practical interest, and it. will be convenient to have some 
simple standard by which it can be approximately meas- 
ured. As the ^' heat-units" and '^ foot-pounds," defined 
in a preceding chapter, are not familiar standards of 
measurement to many of our readers, another standard 
will be used, which, although not as definite, is suffi- 
ciently exact for all practical purposes. 

In their efforts to secure the strictest economy of 
fuel in steam engines, engineers have made experiments 
to determine the available potential energy of coal, and 
its efiBciency in evaporating water under favorable con- 
ditions. From the results of experiments in Europe 
and America, it is stated that one pound of coal will 
evaporate from 6.73 to 8.66 pounds of water, according 
to the quality of the coal used. In some published 
tables one pound of coal is said to evaporate from 7.58 
to 9.05 pounds of water, but these figures refer to water 
at an initial temperature of 212°, and the results are 
about one-seventh higher than with water at the freezing 
point.* 

In the absence of more definite data we may assume 
that, under the conditions we have to deal with in agri- 
cultural processes, one pound of coal will evaporate 8.5 
pounds of water, which is considerably more than is 

*Eney. Brit., 9th Ed., Vol. VI, p. 81, IX, p. 809, 



60 LA^ND DEAINING. 

realized in ordinary steam engines. With this standard 
of measurement we will now estimate approximately the 
energy expended in vaporizing water in the i3rocesses of 
plant growth. 

The weight of a cubic foot of water is about 62.4 
pounds, which is the British standard, but it will, of 
course, vary with its temperature and other conditions. 
The water covering an area of one acre, one inch deep, 
will therefore weigh about 226,500 pounds, or over 113 
tons, and the energy required to evaporate, or change it 
to vapor, would be represented by more than thirteen 
tons of coal. This may, however, be expressed in 
another form, that will be readily understood. We are 
told that ^*^a good condensing engine, of large size, sup- 
plied with good boilers, consumes two pounds of coal 
per horse power per hour." The energy expended in 
evaporating 226.500 pounds of water, or one inch in 
depth OD one acre, will therefore represent the work of 
three horses, day and night, with undiminished powers, 
for six months. 

Energy in Exhalation of W^ater by Plants. 
Our standards for measuring energy are applicable alike 
in estimating the energy expended in the exhalation of 
water by plants, or in evaporation from the soil, or from 
a water surface, as the energy required to vaporize the 
water is the same in all of these processes. The farmer 
is, nevertheless, interested in the manner in which this 
circulating capital, in the form of water, is disposed of, 
as he is directly benefited by the energy expended in 
the exhalation from his crops, while evaporation from 
the soil may be indirectly beneficial under favorable con- 
ditions, or positively injurious in their absence. 

The water exhaled by a good crop of Indian corn 
we have already estimated at about 960 tons per acre, or 
the equivalent of 8.5 inches of rainfall. According to 
the standard we have adopted, this would involve an 



EXEEGY IN EVAPORATION. 61 

expenditure of energy represented by 226,500 pounds of 
coal, or over 113 tont^ per acre, and cliis would represent 
the work of more than twenty-five horses, day and night, 
without cessation, for six months. 

Energy Expended in Growing Crops. In sum- 
ming up the results of the drainage and evaporation 
experiments under discussion in the preceding chapter, 
the conclusion was reached that in the grain-growing 
States the exhalation from a crop, and the evaporation 
from the soil on which it was growing, would amount 
to twenty-four inches in depth of water in the course of 
the year, or 2,718 tons per acre, and that a very large 
proportion of this work was done in the summer months. 
To vaporize this immense quantity of water involves an 
expenditure of energy represented by the combustion of 
320 tons of coal per acre, or the work of seventy-three 
horses day and night for six months. 

Astonishing as, at the first glance, it may appear, 
this estimate of the enormous expenditure of energy in 
the normal processes of growing crops does not, how- 
ever, represent the whole truth, and there are good rea- 
sons for believing that it is considerably too low. In 
the constructive metabolism of plants, it will be remem- 
bered, energy is expended in the direct work of building 
organic substances, and the amount so used is stored up 
in the potential form as an essential condition of their 
constitution, and that it reappears as heat when the 
plant is burned. A large, but variable, amount of 
energy must likewise be expended in warming the soil, 
to provide optimum conditions of temperature for grow- 
ing crops. 

In our estimate of the energy expended m growing 
a field crop, these demands for energy have been neg- 
lected, and attention has been exclusively directed to the 
work performed in vaporizing the watei* evaporated from 
the soil, and exhaled by the leaves of growing plants. 



62 LaKD DllAIKIisG. 

The importance of both of these processes of yapor- 
izing water in the economies of yegefcation, and the 
urgency of the demands for energy to carry them on, 
should be fully recognized. The water exhaled by the 
leayes of plants has seryed its purpose in the transporta- 
tion of soluble nutritiye materials, and must be disposed 
of, and replaced by fresh supplies taken up by the roots. 
The activity of the processes of nutrition must, there- 
fore, depend, to a great extent, upon the constant 
absorption of water by the roots, and its final exhalation 
by the leayes. In like manner the evaporation of capil- 
lary water from the soil itself cannot be looked upon as 
involving a waste of the supplies of energy, as it is but 
a phase of a general system of circulation that must be 
maintained in all productiye soils. It serves a useful 
purpose, in the transportation and distribution of the 
soluble soil constituents, which are brought from the 
lower strata towards the surface, where they are most 
needed by the roots of plants, and it likewise promotes 
the diffusion of the atmosphere through the porous soil, 
where its constituents are made ayailable in the processes 
of soil metabolism and plant nutrition. The capillary 
water of fertile soils is, in fact, kept constantly in 
motion, as its equilibrium is disturbed by the drafts 
made upon it by the roots of growing plants, and evapo- 
ration from the surface of the soil, and this last process 
appears to be one of the essential conditions of fertility. 

Energy and Soil Temperatures. We have seen 
that a certain temperature of the soil must be secured 
for growing plants, and that, according to the experi- 
ments already cited, a minimum of about 48° and an 
optimum of oyer 80° is required by our leading farm 
crops. As the soil is not warmed by the energy expended 
in eyaporation, a supply in excess of this demand is 
required to raise the temperature of the soil from the 
freezing point, in our northern climate, to the tempera- 



ENERGY IN EVAPORATION. 63 

ture that is favorable for plant growth. In growing a 
crop, under the most favorable conditions of food sup- 
ply, energy, in the form of heat, as we have already 
S3cn, is required and expended, in the work performed 
in the constructive processes of the plants, in the exha- 
lation of water by their leaves, in evaporation from the 
surface soil, and in warming the soil, and a failure of 
the supply for either of these purposes must result in 
diminished productiveness. To the estimate already 
made of the energy expended in vaporizing water from 
soil and plants, must therefore be added the amount 
required in the constructive processes of nutrition, and 
in warming the soil, which cannot as readily be formu- 
lated, from the lack of experimental data. 

Energy and Drainage Water. On the other 
hand, all water in the soil in excess of what is required 
in the above-mentioned normal processes^ is injurious, 
and should be removed by drainage. In retentive, 
undrained soils, this surplus water can only be disposed 
of by evaporation, and we will try to estimate the prob- 
able expenditure of energy involved in this process. 

Admitting the approximate correctness of the esti- 
mate that the normal beneficial evaporation and exhala- 
tion from a well drained soil and a growing crop amounts 
to twenty-four inches of water annually, it follows that 
with an annual rainfall of forty inches, which is not 
unusual in the grain-growing States, there would be six- 
teen inches of water to be removed from the soil by 
drainage or evaporation, to secure the best conditions 
for a growing crop. The energy required to evaporate 
this mass of water is represented by two hundred and 
thirteen tons of coal per acre, or the work of forty-eight 
horses day and night for six months, an immense amount 
of useless work to be drawn from, or interfere with, the 
supplies of energy which we have considered essential 
factors of production. In many localities the average 



64 LAISTD DRAINING. 

annual rainfall is more than forty inches, and a larger 
surplus of water would accordingly need to be removed 
by drainage, to provide suitable conditions for growing 
luxuriant crops. 

The sun has but little influence in warming soils 
saturated with water, especially in the spring months, 
as the available energy is all diverted to the work of 
evaporating the surplus water, which might be removed 
by draining. This diversion of energy from useful 
work, the value of which we have estimated in tons of 
coal per acre, not only prevents the soil from gaining a 
proper temperature, but it retards or checks the pro- 
cesses of soil metabolism that are required for the rapid 
elaboration of plant food. 

Besides this practical monopoly of the sun's heat, 
in evaporating drainage water from the soil, heat is also 
abstracted from the soil itself, so that evaporation is, in 
effect, a cooling process. Gisborne says, '''the evapora- 
tion of one pound of water lowers the temperature of 
one hundred pounds of soil 10°. That is to say, that if 
to one hundred pounds of soil, holding all the water 
which it can by attraction (capillary water), but con- 
taining no water of drainage, is added one pound of 
water, which it has no means of discharging, except by 
evaporation, it will, by the time that it has so discharged 
it, be 10° colder than it would have been if it had the 
power of discharging this one pound by filtration."* 

In experiments on a peat bog in Lancashire, Eng- 
land, Mr. Parkes found the thermometer, placed seven 
inches below the surface, ranged from 12° to 19° higher 
in the drained, than in the natural bog, for several days 
in June, and on the mean of thirty-five observations in 
the course of the month, it was 10° higher in the drained 
bog. In observations made on various kinds of soil, in 
the middle of the day, in August, with the thermometer 

* Gisborne on Drainage, p. 90. 



EKERGY IN EVAPORATION. 65 

at from 72^/ to 77° in the shade, Schubler found the 
temperature of dry soils from 13° to 14° higher than the 
same soils^when wet.* 

It should be noted, in this connection, that the 
influence of draining, on the temperature of soils, is 
exceedingly difficult to determine by direct experiment, 
on account of the complexity of the conditions involved 
in the problem. With increased temperature of a 
drained soil there is, at the same time, an increase in 
the radiation of heat, and the reading of the thermom- 
eter, at a given time, will not represent the real saving 
of energy in the form of heat that is effected by thor- 
ough drainage. 

The relations of evaporation to soil temperatures 
and certain processes of plant growth have thus far been 
considered as correlated processes, that are carried on in 
accordance with the law of the conservation of energy, 
which is now generally accepted as of universal applica- 
tion, and the practical signi6cance of these transforma- 
tions of energy must be evident from the facts presented. 

Capacity of Soils for Heat. Soils differ widely 
in their capacity to absorb heat of low intensity, and 
likewise in the facility with which they part with it by 
radiation. Schubler heated equal bulks of several kinds 
of earth to a temperature of 144° F., ^^and observed, in 
a close room having a temperature of 61°, the time 
which they respectively required to cool down to 70°. " f 
Their relative capacity for heat was then calculated, 
taking as a standard calcareous sand at 100. The 
results may be tabulated, as in table 12. 

The greater power of sand for retaining heat will 
explain, in part, 'Hhe dryness and heat of sandy dis- 
tricts in summer." It will be noticed, on comparing 
tables 12 and 13, that the soils Avhicli part with their 

* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1840, p. 204, How Crops Feed, p. 146. 
t J. R. Ag. Soc, 1840, p. 201, How Crops Feed, p. 194. 



66 



LAND DRAI]N"ING. 



heat most rapidly when dry, have the greatest capacity 
for absorbing and holding capillary water, which is 
probably owing to the greater density or weight of the 
soils that cool slowly. 

TABLE 12. 
RELATIVE Capacity of Soils for Heat, as Deteemested by 

SCHUBLER. 



Ejiids of Earth. 



Relative power 
I of retaining 
heat. 



Calcareous sand 

Siliceous sand 

Sandy clay 

Loamy clay 

Arable soil 

Stiff clay, a brick earth. 

Grey pure clay 

Garden mold 

Humus 




Length of time required to 
cool down from a tempera- 
ture of 144° to 70°, with a sur- 
rounding temperature of 61°. 



3 hours 30 miiuites. 
3 hours 20 minutes. 
2 hours 41 minutes. 
2 hours 30 minutes. 
2 hours 27 miimtes. 
2 hours 24 minutes. 
2 hours 19 minutes. 
2 hours 16 minutes. 
1 hour 43 minutes. 



In discussing soil temperatures, a distinction must 
be made between heat of low and of high intensity, as 
their effects are quite different. The dry soils that cool 
most rapidly are likewise warmed with greater rapidity 
when exposed to heat of low intensity, as, for example, 
the heat radiated to the soil by a warm atmosphere. On 
the other hand, the sands have a slight advantage in 
the temperature gained by heat of high intensity, like 
that from the direct rays of the sun. 

As water has a greater capacity for heat than soils, 
it not only absorbs the heat radiated to the earth, but 
appropriates it from surrounding objects when changed 
to vapor. Wet soils are, therefore, nearly alike in their 
capacity to absorb and retain heat, and, as has already 
been pointed out, they are not readily warmed. 

Radiant Heat and Atmospheric Moisture. 
Eadiant heat is an important factor in the phenomena 
presented in the immediate environment of growing 
vegetation, and ordinary thermometers fail to indicate 
the most significant transformations of energy that take 
place under the prevailing conditions. A full discussion 



ENERGY IN EVAPORATION. 67 

of its relations to vegetable nutrition would be out of 
place here, but attention must be called to some of the 
known facts in regard to its behavior, that will be of 
assistance in gaining correct notions of the philosophy 
of thorough drainage. 

Dry air is not readily warmed, and it is therefore 
said to be transparent to heat. The small percentage o£ 
the vapor of water diffused through the atmosphere, 
more abundant near the earth, and diminishing with 
the elevation, does, however, readily absorb heat of low 
intensity, and the air is warmed by this indirect process. 
The heat of high intensity, on the other hand, which is 
emitted by the sun, is not intercepted, to any extent, by 
the diffused aqueous vapor of the atmosphere, but passes 
on to the earth's surface, where it is either absorbed or 
expended in the work of evaporation. 

The earth, in its turn, radiates heat of low inten- 
sity, which is readily absorbed by the vapor of water in 
the atmosphere, and increases its temperature. And 
here comes in one of the compensating processes of 
nature : ''The vapor which absorbs heat thus greedily, 
radiates it copiously," and the radiation of heat of low 
intensity by the atmospheric envelop of aqueous vapor, 
furnishes the soil with a supply that is more readily 
absorbed than that received from the direct rays from 
the sun. 

Between a well-drained, porous soil, and its atmos- 
pheric envelop of diffused vapor, there is a constant 
interchange of energy and moisture, the two factors of 
paramount importance in the economy of plant life. In 
regard to the significance of these transformations Pro- 
fessor Tyndall says : '' It would be an error to confound 
clouds of fog, or any visible mist, with the vapor of 
water ; this vapor is a perfectly impalpable gas, diffused, 
even on the clearest days, throughout the atmosphere. 
Compared with the great body of the air, the aqueous 



68 LAI^D DRAININ^G. 

vapor it contains is of almost infinitesimal amount, 
ninety-nine and one-half out of every one Imndred joarts 
of the atmosphere being composed of oxygen and nitro- 
gen. In the absence of experiment, we should never 
think of ascribing to this scant and varying constituent 
any important influence on terrestrial radiation; and 
yet its influence is far more potent than that of the 
great body of the air. To say that, on a day of average 
humidity in England, the atmospheric vapor exerts one 
hundred times the action of the air itself, would cer- 
tainly be an understatement of the fact."* 

"The removal, for a single summer night, of the 
aqueous vapor from the atmosphere which covers Eng- 
land, would be attended by the destruction of every 
plant which a freezing temperature could kill. In 
Sahara, where ^the soil is fire and the wind is a flame,' 
the refrigeration at night is often painful to bear."f 

"'The power of aqueous vapor seems vast, because 
that of the air with which it is compared is infinitesi- 
mal. Absolutely considered, however, this substance 
exercises a very potent action. Probably a column of 
ordinary air ten feet long would intercept from ten to 
fifteen per cent, of the heat radiated from an obscure 
source, and I think it certain that the larger of these 
numbers fails to express the absorption of the terrestrial 
rays effected within ten feet of the earth's surface. This 
is of the utmost consequence to the life of the world. 
Imagine the superficial molecules of the earth trembling 
with the motion of heat, and imparting it to the sur- 
rounding ether ; this motion would be carried rapidly 
away, and lost forever to our planet, if the waves of 
ether had nothing but the air to contend with in their 
outward course. But the aqueous vapor takes up the 
motion of the ethereal waves and becomes thereby 

*Tyiidan on Radiation, p. 33. 
tHeat as a Mode of Motion, p. 405 



EKEKGY IN EVAPORATION. G9 

heated, thus wrapping the earth like a warm garment, 
and protecting its surface from the deadly chill which 
it would otherwise sustain."* 

This variable and constantly varying envelop of 
aqueous vapor diffused through the atmosphere, that 
serves as a blanket to conserve the earth's heat, that 
would otherwise be lost by radiation, plays an important 
part in the familiar processes taking place near the 
earth's surface, and in the less readily observed changes 
carried on in the upper strata of soils. The phenomena 
of dew and frost are the result of a thinning of the 
atmospheric vapor, as in times of drouth, and thus per- 
mitting an escape of the radiant heat from the earth's 
surface, or from objects on it, in clear nights, and the 
condensation of moisture may extend to the upper layers 
of the soil. 

Another of nature's compensations is here evident. 
Evaporation, as we have seen, is a cooling process, and, 
conversely, the condensation of vapor into water is a 
heating process. The energy exjjended in evaporating, 
or vaporizing water, is liberated as heat when the vapor 
is again transformed into water, in accordance with the 
law of conservation. The heat radiated from the earth, 
and causing condensation on the cooled bodies it leaves, 
is therefore offset, in part, by the heat liberated in the 
process of condensation, and a check is thus kept on the 
cooling that would take place from the loss of heat with- 
out compensation. The ameliorating influences of drain- 
ing and tillage on soils are intimately connected with, 
and largely dependent on, these correlated transfers of 
energy and moisture, that are brought about by radiant 
heat through the directing agency of atmospheric vapor. 

* On Radiation, p. 34. 



CHAPTER V. 

Advantages oe Deaiktkg Retentive Soils. 

As there are many farms that do not need draining, 
it may be well to inquire nnder what conditions it can 
be profitably practiced. It would certainly be a foolish 
expenditure of money and labor, to lay drains in land 
that has a permeable subsoil and allows the free perco- 
lation of hydrostatic water, so that the water tahle is at 
least four feet below the surface in wet seasons, or after 
heavy rains. There are extensive tracts of open, porous 
soils that are not fertile from lack of power to retain 
capillary water in sufficient quantity to support vegeta- 
tion, in which irrigation rather than draining is indicated. 

Draining can only be recommended when there is a 
retentive subsoil, which holds the drainage water for a 
considerable time in the spring and fall months, or after 
a heavy rainfall in the growing season. It will at once 
be admitted that swamps and bogs that are saturated 
with water for several months in the year, and lands 
overflowed by springs, need draining, but on high lands 
there are less obvious indications of deficient drainage, 
which the intelligent observer will not fail to notice. 

Indications that High Lands Need Draining. 
Where water stands on the surface after heavy showers, 
or is seen in the furrows when plowing in the spring, 
the soil will, undoubtedly, be improved by draining. 
Even where water does not show itself at the surface, 
the dark patches of soil in a recently plowed field, and 
the growth of mosses, or molds, and aquatic plants, later 
in the season, show that the water table must be lowered 

70 



DRAINING RETENTIVE SOILS. 71 

to provide favorable conditions for the growth of upland 
plants of greater economic value. The accumulation of 
water in trial pits, that may be dug to the depth of three 
or four feet, in wet seasons, is another indication that is 
quite conclusive. 

The indications of deficient drainage are likewise 
manifest in time of drouth, among which may be men- 
tioned, as the most striking, the appearance of wide 
cracks in heavy soils that have been saturated with water 
early in the season, and then dried by evaporation. In 
such soils there is a lack of porosity, or capillarity ; the 
roots of plants are not well developed, from the absence 
of suitable conditions for their distribution throughout 
the soil, and the rolling of the leaves indicates a deficient 
supply of capillary water for healthy nutrition. . After 
copious showers the plants frequently have a yellowish 
tinge, from defective assimilation arising from the pres- 
ence of hydrostatic water in the soil, and at the close of 
the season the crop matures, or ripens unevenly in the 
field. Soil metabolism is not active ; the conditions do 
not favor the free circulation of capillary water in the 
soil, or vigorous root development, and the crop suffers 
from the check given to its general processes of nutri- 
tion. In contrast with these unfavorable conditions for 
growing crops, we may summarize some of the benefits 
that may be derived from a judicious system of farm 
drainage. 

Advantages of Draining Retentive Soils. As 
the surface of the water table is the limit of the healthy 
root development of farm crops, one of the most obvious 
effects of draining is to deepen the soil, and thus fur- 
nish a wider range for these important agents of nutri- 
tion and growth. If the water table is within four feet 
of the surface of the soil for any considerable time dur- 
ing the growing season, it must materially interfere 
with the development and distribution of the roots of 



72 LAN"D DRAIK^IIfG. 

most of our farm crops, as, under favorable, conditions, 
they penetrate the soil to greater depths than the limit 
mentioned, which may be considered the minimum for 
profitable production. 

Schubert made excavations in the field six feet, or 
more, in depth, and then laid bare the roots of plants 
by gently washing the soil with a stream of water. He 
found that rye, beans and garden peas had a dense mat 
of fine fibrous roots to a depth of four feet from the 
surface, and wheat roots were traced to the depth of 
seven feet forty-seven days after sowing, while other 
crops had roots ranging to the depth of three or four 
feet.* A greater range of root development has fre- 
quently been reported by other observers. 

There are numerous indirect advantages of thorough 
draining which should not be overlooked. On well 
drained land the rain falling upon the soil, in excess of 
its capacity for absorption, or the demands of the crop, 
percolates downwards to the level of the drains, warm- 
ing the soil in its progress, and increasing its porosity, 
while the air follows the descending water between the 
particles of the soil, where its constituents are needed 
for the nutrition of the plants, and in the processes of 
soil metabolism, ^ext to carbon we find oxygen is the 
most abundant element in the composition of plants. It 
is freely absorbed by the roots of plants, and "deprived 
of oxygen the movements of protoplasm, the movements 
of the roots and of the leaves cease, other manifestations 
of activity are put a stop to, and the plant dies of suffo- 
cation,"! Atmospheric nitrogen, also, as we have seen, 
is appropriated by micro-organisms in the soil, and 
made available as combined nitrogen for the use of 
plants. The free admission of the atmosphere between 
the particles of soils is, therefore, important, and this 
can only be secured on well drained land. 

*How Crops Grow, p. 264. 

t Plant Life on the Farm, p. 25. 



DRAININ^G RETEITTIVE SOILS. 73 

When the hydrostatic water of soils is discharged 
by drainage, instead of evaporation, there is an immense 
saving of energy in the form of heat, as has been pointed 
out in a preceding chapter (p. 63), that may be made 
available for other purposes, of direct advantage to the 
growing crops. The enormous amount of heat saved 
from useless work by drainage would be utilized in 
warming the soil, and in the metabolic processes that 
are essential to the healthy, luxuriant growth of crops. 
Soil metabolism would be promoted, the micro-organ- 
isms concerned in the disintegration of organic matters 
in the soil, and, in the processes of nitrification, would 
find more favorable conditions for the exercise of their 
vital activities, plant food would be more rapidly elabo- 
rated, and the power of the soil to hold water by capil- 
lary attraction in the form best suited for the use of 
growing plants, would be materially increased. The 
enhanced porosity of the soil would not only favor bene- 
ficial metabolic activities in the soil itself, but, from the 
improved biological conditions, the roots of plants would 
be more widely distributed, as they could readily pene- 
trate the soil in all directions, so that its entire mass 
would be utilized. 

Heavy soils, when saturated with water, are injured 
by working, or by the treading of cattle, as the process 
of *' puddling," as it is technically called, takes place 
and renders them more retentive and compact. When 
the water absorbed by such soils is removed by evapora- 
tion they become hard and toagh, and they do not read- 
ily absorb water again, or allow it to percolate throuoh 
them. In drying they shrink and crack, to the injury 
of the feeble roots that may have been formed near 
the surface. They are difficult to work, from their 
tenacity, and are not easily pulverized, so that thorough 
tillage, or the preparation of a good seed bed, is made 
impracticable. These 'Hieavy" soils weigh least. 



74 LANI> DEAIKING. 

The sum of the ameliorating effects of draining sn.cTi 
soils is to lengthen the season, as they can then be 
worked earlier in the spring and later in the fall, plants 
have a longer period of active growth, and a thorough 
preparation of the soil for seeding can be secured, with 
economy and increased efficiency in the labor expended. 

Among the incidental advantages of draining we 
should not omit to notice that the surface soil is not 
washed by heavy rains ; and water furrows, that interfere 
with cultivation and the use of harvesting machinery, 
may be dispensed with ; that crops are not injured by 
the heaving of the soil by frost ; that they are of better 
quality, and ripen evenly, which is an important consid- 
eration in harvesting. It is only on well drained land 
that manures produce their full effect, either as supplies 
of plant food, or through their indirect action of increas- 
ing soil metabolism. 

There are retentive, undrained soils, which yield 
fair crops in the exceptional seasons, that furnish the 
most favorable conditions of -temperature and distribu- 
tion of rainfall for their special requirements, while in 
bad seasons the total failure of the crop, or the decidedly 
low yield in ordinary seasons, tends to reduce the average 
below the point of profitable production. 

Drainage and Drouths. In localities where the 
average annual rainfall considerably exceeds the amount 
required by crops, drouths are liable to occur from an 
unequal distribution of rain throughout the year, and 
an absolute' deficiency in the growing season. The 
influence of drainage in promoting the growth of crops 
in time of drouth should, therefore, receive particular 
attention. 

On well drained land, of fair quality, plants have a 
vigorous habit of growth that enables them to resist, or 
overcome, to a certain extent, the injurious influences 
which, under less favorable conditions, would be mani- 



DRAINING RETENTIVE SOILS. 



75 



fest from a scanty supply of moisture in the soil. Their 
widely extended and deep range of root distribution 
enables them to appropriate the capillary water from all 
parts of the soil, and when this is exhausted, they may 
even take up a considerable portion of hygroscopic water, 
which is less readily parted with by the particles of soli, 
and which less yigorous and aggressive plants would not 
be likely to obtain. The soil itself, from its improved 
porosity, will bring moisture from below by capillary 
attraction, and will also condense it from the atmos- 
phere, and thus add to the aggregate of the supply. 
The results of experiments relating to the capacity of 
Boils for absorbing and holding moisture, and the extent 
to which it may be appropriated by plants will be of 
interest in this connection. 

Amount of Capillary Water in Soils. Schub- 
ier made experiments to determine the capacity of soils 

TABLE 13. 

Capillary and Hygroscopic Water Retained by Soils. 
SCHUBLER's Experiments.* 



Kinds of Earth. 


Percent. 

of 
weight. 


Per cent. 

of 
volume. 


Pounds 
of water 
in 1 cubic 

foot of 
soil. 


Tons per 
acre to 

depth of 
4 feet. 


Inches 

of 
rainfaU. 


Silicious sand 

nnlPHTPmic! <?a.nd 


25 
29 
40 
50 
61 
70 
87 
181 
89 
52 
34 
27 


37.9 
44.1 
51.4 
57.3 
62.9 
66.2 
66.0 
69.8 
67.3 
57.3 
49.9 
38.2 


27.3 
31.8 
38.8 
41.4 
45.4 
48.3 
47.4 
50.1 
48.4 
40.8 
35.6 
27.4 


2,370 
2,770 
3,380 
3,600 
3,950 
4,200 
4,120 
4,360 
4,210 
3,550 
3,100 


21 
24 




30 


Loamy clay 

Stiff, or brick clay 

Pure grey clay 

"Whitp> 'nlnp plnv 


31 
35 
37 
36 




38 


Garden mold . 


37 




31 


Slaty marl 


27 


Gypsnm powder 





for retaining capillary and hygroscopic water, by sat- 
urating them with water, and then allowing them' to 
drain until the hydrostatic water had been discharged, 
with results given in the seccmd and third columns of 
table 13, on which are based the estimates of the last 
three columns. 



* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1840, p. 184. 



76 LAND DKAIKING. 

Before commencing these experiments^ the soils 
were dried at a temperature of 144|^°, until they ceased 
to lose weight, so that hygroscopic, as well as capillary, 
water, was parted with. The water absorbed was, there- 
fore, hygroscopic, as well as capillary. Experiments 
like these can, however, give only approximate results, 
as the same soil, in different degrees of fineness, will 
vary widely in its capacity to absorb water, the capillar- 
ity being increased as the size of the particles diminish. 

In 1878, Dr. E. 0. Kedzie, of the Michigan Agri- 
cultural college,* made an analysis of thirty-one soils, 
from different localities in Michigan, and tested their 
capacity to absorb and retain capillary water, by a modi- 
fication of Schubler's method. Two-thirds of these soils, 
including prairie soils and heavy clay loams, had a 
capacity for absorbing water of from 40.20 to 73.20 per 
cent., seven of them ranging above 50 per cent. ; and 
one-third of them, among which were samples of the 
sandy *' plain land" in the northern part of the lower 
peninsula, had a capacity for holding from 29.20 to 
39.60 per cent, of capillary water. Allowing for the 
difference in weight of these soils, one acre to the depth 
of one foot may be estimated to weigh from three to 
four million pounds, according to the relative proportion 
of sand, clay and organic matters they contained. On 
this basis, the capacity of these soils for retaining capil- 
lary water to the depth of four feet would be, for the 
first group, from 3,000 to 4,000 tons per acre, and for 
the last group, from 2,300 to 3,100 tons per acre, amounts 
that are, in most cases, very much in excess of the prob- 
able requirements of a crop. 

These results, by Schubler's method of determining 
the capacity of soils to absorb water, even in the modi- 
fied form adopted by Kedzie, are probably higher than 
would be obtained with the same soils in their natural 

*Mich. Ag Kep't., 1878, p. 386. 



DRAINING RETENTIVE SOILS 77 

condition in the field, and they may be interpreted as 
representing the maximum capacity of soils for holding 
water under the best possible physical conditions^ that 
are not likely to be realized_, even with well-drained and 
thoroughly cultivated soils. As indications of the wide 
margin for possible improvement in the capacity. of soils 
for moisture^ by judicious management they are valu- 
able, and they should lead to further investigations 
relating to the physical properties of soils. 

In 1888, Dr. Kedzie made experiments under some- 
what different conditions, to determine the capacity of 
soils to absorb and hold water, which were suggested by 
the statement that was widely circulated in the agricul- 
tural papers, that floods were increased and the effects 
of drouths intensified by tile draining that in some 
localities had been quite extensively practiced. These 
experiments were made with tin tubes two inches in 
diameter and twenty inches deep, that were weighed in 
a delicate balance, and then filled with air-dried, sifted 
garden and other soils, to which water was added until 
they were saturated with capillary water. Some of the 
tubes had a tight bottom, to secure the conditions of an 
undrained soil, and others had a perforated bottom, to 
secure thorough drainage. By weighing the tubes, 
under the different conditions of the experiment, the 
amount of the soil, and the water retained by it, could 
be readily determined. 

He found that, on the average, 36 inches in depth 
of garden soil retained 12.5 inches in vertical depth of 
water, which would be equivalent to over 1,415 tons per 
acre. A fact of still greater importance was likewise 
demonstrated. When this drained soil was thoroughly 
saturated with capillary water, "the tubes were left, 
freely exposed to the air in a room well ventilated, for 
thirty-three days of hot drying weather." The loss of 
water by evaporation from the drained soil was nearly 



78 LAi^D DRAINING. 

two inches in depth, but, on adding water again to the 
soil, it was found that its capacity for holding water had 
increased, as it retained more water than before the 
period, of evaporation, while the und rained soil had a 
diminished capacity for holding water. It was estimated, 
from the results of these experiments, that the drained 
soils had an increased capacity for holding water amount- 
ing to about 12.6 per cent.* The evaporation of water 
from the surface of well drained soils has already been 
noticed, as serving a useful purpose in various ways, and 
these experiments seem to indicate that increased capil- 
larity, or power to hold water, must be included in the 
sum of its ameliorating influences. 

Moisture in Cropped and Uncropped Soils. 
As growing crops exhale large quantities of water in 
their processes of nutrition, the experimental evidence 
relating to the influence of this draft of water upon the 
retained moisture of the- soil will be found suggestive. 
At Eothamsted, experiments have been made to deter- 
mine the amount of capillary water retained in cropped 
and uncropped soils under the normal conditions of field 
cultivation, that are of great practical interest in their 
bearing on the supplies of water available for crops in 
time of severe drouths. 

In the experiments with wheat grown continuously 
on the same land, under different conditions of manur- 
ing, and with a tile drain through the middle of each 
plot at a depth of about thirty inches, '^the three years 
of highest produce, both corn (grain) and total produce, 
were 1854, 1863 and 1864, and all three were seasons of 
less than the average fall of rain during the four months 
of active growth. The two seasons of lowest fall of rain 
during April, May, June and July, were 1868 and 1870 ; 
and both gave, with each of the three conditions as to 
manure, more than the average of corn (grain) over the 



*Proc. Soc. for the Pr. of Agr'l Science, 1888, p. 49. 



DRAINING RETENTIVE SOILS. 



10 




oo 
*. "xjw ^ ■ June. 



? July. 



80 LAND DEAINING. 

nineteen years ; and in 1868, thongh not in 1870, there 
was even more than the average of total produce also, 
under each of the manured conditions."* With the 
gTeat deficiency of rain in the growing season, the yield 
of grain was above, and that of the straw and total pro- 
duce was below, •the average in both years on the unma- 
nured plot. For convenience of reference in discussing 
the water supply of crops in time of drouth, the yield of 
wheat for these years, and the averages for nineteen 
years, are given in table 14, together with the rainfall 
for the growing months. 

^' Such were the drouth and heat of May, June and 
July, 1868, that it is hardly possible to suppose condi- 
tions more calculated to induce extreme dryness of soil 
than those preceding the harvest of that year. Accord- 
ingly, toward the end of July, just before the crop was 
ripe, samples of soil were taken from three plots of the 
experimental wheat-field, with the special view of deter- 
mining the amount of moisture retained at different 
depths. Eor comparison with these samples, taken at a 
time of extreme dryness, others were collected from the 
same plots in January 1869, after much rain during the 
preceding ten days ; the drains were running, and it 
was supposed that the ground was quite saturated." f 
The samples were six inches square, and three inches 
deep, ^^ down to a total depth of thirty-six inches, or, 
rather, below the pipe drains." The results of their 
investigations are given in table 15. 

In the July sample of the first three inches from 
the unmanured plot there was considerably less moisture 
than in either of the other plots, which may be attrib- 
uted to more active surface evaporation from the less 
dense shade of its smaller crop, and the inferior capacity 
of the soil for holding water. In the next nine inches 

* J. R. Ag. Soc, ISTl, p. 107. 
tJ. R. Ag. Soc, 1871,p. 108. 



DRAINING RETENTIVE SOILS. 



81 



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82 LAKD DRAIIsTIXG. 

of soil (the average percentage of moisture in samples 
2, 3 and 4, from the three ]3lots, being respeefciyely 8.92, 
7.51 and 7.06) there is the least moisture in the mineral 
manure plot, the barnyard manure plot has nearly one- 
half per cent, more, and the unmanured plot has the 
highest, as might be expected, from the smaller amount 
of water exhaled by its small crop. From this point 
downwards there is a gradual increase in the percentage 
of moisture in all of the plots. With the exception of 
the first and last samples of three inches, the barnyard 
manure plot had decidedly less water at every level than 
the unmanured plot, and it must have exhaled very 
nauch more water in its larger crop, and, therefore, 
pumped the soil drier than the small crop of the unma- 
nured plot. 

When we come to compare" the barnyard manure 
and the mineral manure plots, there is, however, evi- 
dence of some other condition than the exhalation of 
water by the crops that determined the relative amounts 
of soil moisture in the dry summer. The crop of the 
mineral manure plot was considerably larger, and there- 
fore exhaled more water than that of the barnyard 
manure plot, but below the depth ot nine inches the 
samples of the latter, in every case, contained less moist- 
ure than the former, that had parted with more water. 
The only apparent explanation of this difference is the 
probable better condition of capillarity in the soil of the 
mineral manure plot which enabled it to bring larger 
supplies of water from the lower strata of the soil. 

In the winter, after heavy rains, we find the unma- 
nured plot had a comparatively limited capacity for 
holding water. The barnyard manure plot, with its 
abundant stores of organic matter, contains very much 
more water in the first nine inches of soil than either of 
the other plots, but below this the mineral manure plot, 
at every level (with a single exception), holds consider- 



DRAINI^^G RETENTIVE SOILS. 83 

ably more. The barnyard manure plot, on the whole, 
has the greatest capacity for holding water, especially in 
the cultivated and manured strata near the surface ; 
while the mineral manure plot was probably less reten- 
tive near the surface, and allowed the rain falling on 
the soil to gravitate more rapidly to the lower strata, 
and this same condition of porosity may have facilitated 
the appropriation of moisture from below in the dry 
season. 

In regard to the greater capacity of the barnyard 
manure plot to retain water, it is remarked by Drs. 
Lawes and Gilbert, in their paper on the drouth of 
1870,* 'Hhat while the pipe-drains from every one of 
the other plots in the experimental wheat-field run 
freely, perhaps, on the average, four or five times annu- 
ally, the drain from the dunged plot seldom runs at all 
more than once a year ; indeed, it has not, with cer- 
tainty, been known to run, though closely watched, 
since about this time last year." The capacity for 
holding water does not, therefore, seem to depend solely 
upon the capillarity, but rather upon the combined 
influence of capillarity and the accumulation of hygro- 
scopic organic substances in the soil. In this latter con- 
dition the mineral manure plot seems to have been 
deficient. 

The aggregate differences of the three plots will be 
best seen when the contained water is estimated in tons 
per acre. In table 16 the long English tons have been 
reduced to tons of 2,000 pounds, and the estimated 
amount of water exhaled by the three crops is given in 
tons per acre, and their equivalent in inches of rainfall, 
together with the yield of grain in bushels per acre. 

In the third and fourth columns of the table the 
water exhaled by the crops is estimated on the supposi- 

* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1871, p. 115. 



84 



LAisD DEAIXIKG. 



tion that 85.5 per cent, of the total produce was dry 
substance, and that three hundred pounds of water was 
exhaled for each pound of dry substance formed and 

TABLE 16. 

Tons of Water pee, Acre in the Soil of Three of the Experi- 
mental W'HEAT-PLOTS AT ROTHAMSTED, IN SUMMER AND 

Winter, with Yield, and Esteniated Exha- 
lation BY THE Crops. 





Yield of 

grain in 

bu. per 

acre. 


W^ater exhaled by 
crop per acre. 


Tons of water per acre in 
soil to depth of 36 inches. 


Plots and 
manures. 


Tons. 


Inches. 


July, '68 

in 
drouth. 


Jan., '69, 
after 
heavy 
rains. 


Differ- 
ence. 


Unuianured. .. 
Baruyarcl rua- 


16.62 
42.12 
44.91 


260 
871 
959 


2.30 
7.70 
8.49 


746 

662 

777 


1,564 
1,803 
1,735 


818 
1,141 

958 


Min'l manures 
and am. salts 



INIANURED Plots over (or under) Unmanured Plot. 



Barnyard ma- 
nure 

Min .manure & 
ammonia salts 



25.50 
28.29 



611 

699 



5.44 
6.19 



-84 
31 



239 
171 



323 
140 



stored in the crop. From this estimate, which must be 
approximately correct, it appears that the difference in 
the amount of water in the soil in July and January 
was sufficient to supply the amount exhaled by the crops 
of the unmanured and barnyard manure plots, and leave 
a fair margin for soil evaporation; but in the case of 
the mineral manure plot the water exhaled by the crop 
is equal to the difference in the soil water at the two 
periods of sampling, leaving nothing for soil eyaporation, 
which must have been considerable. The 3.66 inches 
of rain falling in the course of the fonr growing months 
(see table 14), would aid in restoring the balance, but 
this would, probably, not be equal to the evaporation 
from the soil itself. Moreover, the indications are that 
the soil, at the beginning of the growing period, did not 
contain as much water as when it was sampled in Jann- 
ary. If we accept the estimate of Drs. Lawes and Gil- 
bert, that it contained only two-thirds as much, the 



DRAIKIl^G EETENTIVE SOILS. 85 

supply would be sufficient for the crop of the unmanured 
plot, while the remaining two plots must have drawn 
upon supplies by condensation from the atmosphere, 
and by capillary attraction from the lower strata of the 
soil, and the amount required by tlie mineral manure 
plot must have beeu quite large. 

In the Eothamsted experiments, "a great deficiency 
of rain," during the period of active growth, was found 
to be ^*more adverse to the spring-grown barley than to 
the winter-sown wheafc," and yet more than average 
crops of grain were grown in seasons of drouth, while 
the lighter yield of straw would reduce the amount of 
total produce. In the unusually dry season of 1870, the 
yield of barley on the barnyard manure plot, where it 
had been grown continuously for nineteen years, was 
52^ bushels of grain, and 4,949 pounds of total produce, 
while the average for nineteen years was 50^ bushels of 
grain, and 5,856 pounds of total produce. 

In 1870, barley was grown in the field where the 
drain-gauges were made, as described on page 45 (the 
first records of which were made in September, see tables 
8 and 9). "As the excavations proceeded, barley roots 
were observed to have extended to a depth of between 
four and five feet, and the clayey subsoil appeared to be 
much more disintegrated, and much drier, where the 
roots had penetrated, than where they had not. Accord- 
ingly, it was decided to make careful notes on the sec- 
tions under the two conditions, and also to take samples 
of soil and subsoil to a depth below that at which roots 
were traced, with a view to the determination of the 
amounts of moisture at the different depths in the two 
cases. Portions of the barley ground and the fallow 
ground closely adjoining the drain-gauge plots, but 
undisturbed by the excavations in connection with them, 
were selected, and from each, six samples 6x6 inches 
superficies, by 9 inches deep— that is, in all, to a depth 



86 



LAN^D DKAIKIl!srG. 



of 54 inches — were taken/' on the 27th and 28th of 
June.* These were carefully dried and weighed. 

The percentage of moisture in the different samples 
is given in table 17, together with the mean for the 
entire depth of 54 inches, and the mean of the first 36 
inches, for comparison with the wheat soil in table 15. 

TABLE 17. 

PERCENTAGE OF MOISTURE, AT DIFFERENT DEPTHS, IN CROPPED 
AND UN CROPPED LAND, AT E.OTHAMSTED, JUNE 27 AND 28, 1870. 



Depth of Sample. 


Fallow land. 
20.36 
29.53 
34.84 
34.32 
31.31 
33.55 


Barley land. 


Difference. 


First 9 inches 


11.91 
19.32 

22.83 
25.09 
26.98 
26.38 


8 45 


Second. 9 inches 


10.21 
12 01 




Fourth 9 inches 


9 23 


Fiftli 9 inches 


4 33 


Sixth 9 inches 


7.17 


Mean to depth of 54 inches . . . 
Mean to depth of 36 inches . . . 


30.65 
29.76 


22.09 
19.79 


8.56 
9.97 



For the rainfall of the three preceding months see 
table 14. ^'^It should be stated that ten days preyious 
to the collection of the samples, about two-thirds of an 
inch of rain had fallen, and only three days before the 
collection about one- tenth of an inch ; and hence, per- 
haps, may in part be accounted for the somewhat high 
percentage of moisture in both soils near the surface at 
that period of a season which was, upon the whole, one 
of unusual drouth. Further, for a few days, during the 
inteiwal since the heavier rainfall, some soil, thrown out 
from the excavations near, had laid upon the spot 
whence the samples from the uncropped land were taken, 
and hence, again, may be accounted for part of the 
excess near the surface in the uncropped as compared 
with the cropped land." 

There is not only a marked difference in the per- 
centages of moisture in the fallow and the barley land, 
but in this time of drouth the fallow soil, to the depth 
of three feet, contained a higher percentage of moisture 
than either of the wheat-plots, to the same depth, after 

* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1871. p. 120. 



DRAINING RETENTIVE SOILS. 



87 



the heavy rains of January, and the barley soil contained 
nearly as much as the unmanured wheat plot in January. 
The significance of these relations will best be seen by 
estimating the soil moisture in tons per acre and inches 
of rainfall. 

TABLE 18. 

Tons per Acre of Capillary Water in Fallow and Barley 

land, and their equivalent in inches of rainfall 

at rothamsted, june, 1870. 





Fallow land. 


Barley land. 


Diffei 


ence. 




Tons, 
per 
acre. 


Inches 

of 
rainf'l. 


Tons 
per 
acre. 


Indies 

of 
rainf'l. 


Tons. 


Inches. 


To depth of 54 inches 

To depth of 36 inches 


3,220 
2,084 


28.50 
18.44 


2,185 
1,304 


19.34 
11.54 


1,035 

780 


9.15 
6.90 



If a liberal allowance is made for the possible check 
to evaporation from the fallow land, by the soil laying 
upon it for a few days previous to the time of sampling, 
to which reference has been made, there is a dijfference 
in the two samples of soil of about 1,000 tons of water 
per acre, to the depth of 54 inches, and over 750 tons, 
to the depth of 3G inches, which can only be accounted 
for by the exhalation of water by the crop, as the evapo- 
ration from the shaded soil of the barley land must have 
been decidedly less than from the bare soil of the fallow. 

The dry substance of the crop was estimated at 
'^ under, rather than over," 4,480 pounds per acre, and 
the indications are that the crop exhaled more than 300 
pounds of water for each pound of dry substance formed 
by tha plants, which would amount to but 672 tons per 
acre, or considerably less than the observed difference in 
the water of the two soils to the depth of only 36 inches. 
It might, however, be assumed that the condensation of 
water from the atmosphere was more active on the bare 
soil of the fallow, than on the protected barley soil, 
when radiation from the soil at night would be inter- 
cepted by the shield of vegetation, and the cooling of 
the soil and consequent condensation would be dimin- 



LAJ!^D DRAINING, 



ished. These soils eyidently had a greater capacity for 
storing water than the wheat soils, as will be seen, on 
comparing the amount of water in the fallow land in 
time of severe drouth, with that of the experimental 
wheat plots (table 16), after copious rains in January, 
and they are nearly equal to the best Michigan soils 
tested by Kedzie, and the arable soil of Schubler's 
experiments. 

Absorption of Atmospheric Moisture by Soils. 
Soils are, more or less, hygroscopic, and from this prop- 
erty, moisture, under certain conditions, is absorbed 
from the atmosphere. There is a dearth of experimental 
evidence relating to this important property of soils, 
under conditions that approximate to those which obtain 
in the field. 

Schubler* placed air-dried soils under an inverted 
glass receiver, and over a reservoir of water, the vapor 
of which was thus brought in contact with the soils. 
With a mean temperature of 59° to 66°, the soils absorbed 
the following amounts of water from the atmosphere in 
twenty-four hours, for each one hundred parts of soil. 



TABLE 19. 



Kinds of Earth. 


Per cent, of water absorbed in 
24 hours. 







Calcai'eous sa.ncl 


0.3 




2.6 




3.0 


Stiff ciav 


3.6 




4.2 


jjvunus 


9.7 


Garclen iiiolcl 


4.5 




2.2 


Slatv nicirl 


2.9 







It may be said that these experiments were made 
under exceptional conditions, the soil being dry, and 
the air saturated with the vapor of Avater, and that they 
do not furnish indications of what would take place in 
the field. On the other hand, it must be seen that they 



* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1840, p. 195. 



DRAINING RETENTIVE SOILS. 89 

were continued but twenty-four hours, and that the soil 
was dry only at the beginning of the process, while in 
the field, soils are dried upon the surface in the day time, 
and cooled afc night by radiation, which favors the con- 
densation of atmospheric vapor, and that this process is 
almost daily repeated during the growing season, so that 
a much smaller percentage of absorption than was 
obtained in these experiments, would, in the aggregate, 
form a considerable item of consequence in the soil sup- 
plies of moisture. 

The power of soils to absorb moisture from the 
atmosphere seems to be closely related to their capacity 
for holding capillary water, as they both evidently 
depend, to a great extent, upon the hygroscopic proper- 
ties of organic matters and clay, thus placing the humus 
and garden mold at the head of the list, closely followed 
by the heavy clays. The accumulation of root residues 
in well drained soils, resulting from their greater fertil- 
ity and wider range of root distribution, will therefore 
increase their capacity for holding capillary water, and 
for absorbing atmospheric vapor, as well as the improved 
physical conditions, to which reference has been made. 

In the brief notice of radiant heat, in a preceding 
chapter, attention was called to the compensations of 
nature in the reciprocal interchanges of energy and 
moisture between the soil and the atmosphere that were 
constantly going on, and in this place a further applica- 
tion of the same principle must be made. As wet soils 
part with their moisture by evaporation, and dry soils 
are able to absorb moisture from the atmosphere, there 
must be frequent exchanges of water, in some form, 
between the soil and the atmosphere, and the direction 
in which the transfer is made will depend on their rela- 
tive humidity and temperature. The capacity of the 
atmosphere to absorb and retain the vapor of water 
varies with its temperature. From the high tempera- 



90 LA^D DliAININ^G. 

ture of a summer day the capacity of the air for moisture 
is increased^ evaporation is rapid, and the surface soil 
becomes dry. With the lower temperature at night the 
capacity of the air for moisture is diminished, and the 
dried soil may then regain a portion of the water it had 
parted with in the daytime. But this is not all, as the 
transformations of energy are quite as significant in the 
alternated processes of evaporation and condensation. 

We have seen that evaporation is a cooling process, 
as heat is abstracted from surrounding objects to per- 
form the work of converting the liquid water into vapor. 
From the law of the conservation of energy, when this 
vapor is again changed to the liquid form, the same 
amount of heat is liberated that was originally required 
in the work of evaporation, and in the appropriation of 
the aqueous vapor of the atmosphere, the soil not only 
obtains water, but it is warmed by the heat that is thus 
made available. This alternation of the processes of 
evaporation and condensation must be of immense 
importance in our intense and variable climate, as it 
tends to diminish the extremes of temperature in the 
soil which would otherwise occur. The cooling process 
of evaporating water from the soil in a hot summer day, 
prevents an excessive rise of the temperature of the soil, 
that would be injurious to vegetation, which is so fre- 
quently observed in arid regions. 

Schubler* found that, with a temperature of 77° in 
the shade, dark colored dry soils, when exposed to the 
sun, had a temperature of from 120° to 124°, the sandy 
soils ranging the highest, which is much above the opti- 
mum temperature for growing crops. With a tempera- 
ture of 80° to 00°, or more, in the shade, the direct heat 
of the sun would undoubtedly be injurious to crops, 
when not counteracted by the evaporation of water from 
the soil, and the capillarity of the soil must be an 



* J. H. Ag. Soc, Vol. 1, p. 208. How Crops Feed, p. 196. 



DRAIKING RETENTIVE SOILS. 9i 

important factor in renewing and maintaining the supply. 
On the other hand, the condensation of the moisture 
from the atmosphere at night liberates heat, that retards 
the rapid fall of temperature that would otherwise take 
place in the soil, in clear nights, from radiation. At 
certain seasons of the year this is also an important 
agency in preventing the occurrence of frosts when the 
temperature of the atmosphere approaches the freezing 
point, and a clear sky promotes the rapid radiation of 
heat from the soil. Under such conditions, this con- 
servative influence should be especially manifest in the 
most productive soils, which have the greatest capacity 
for water, as they part with heat more rapidly by radia- 
tion (see table 12), which would soon lower their tem- 
perature to the freezing point, were it not for their 
greater power to absorb and condense atmospheric vapor 
and utilize its potential energy, which is liberated in 
the form of heat. 

Hygroscopic W^ater Used by Plants. By a 
modification of Schubler's experiment, above mentioned 
(table 19), Sachs proved that the hygroscopic moisture 
absorbed by the soil from the atmosphere, may be util- 
ized by plants in their processes of nutrition. A bean 
plant, growing in a pot of retentive soil, was allowed to 
remain without watering until the leaves began to wilt. 
"A high and spacious glass cylinder, having a layer of 
water at its bottom, was then provided, and the pot con- 
taining the wilting plant was supported in it, near its 
top, while the cylinder was capped by two semicircular 
plates of glass, which closed snugly about the stem of 
the bean. The pot of soil and the roots of the plant 
were thus inclosed in an atmosphere which was con- 
stantly saturated, or nearly so, with watery vapor, while 
the leaves were fully exposed to the free air. It was 
now to be observed whether the water that exhaled from 
the leaves could be supplied by the hygroscopic moisture 



92 LAIS'D DKAINIKG. 

which the soil should gather from the damp air envelop- 
ing it. This proves to be the case. The leaves previ- 
ously wilted recovered their proper turgidity, and 
remained fresh during the two months of June and 
July."* 

From other experiments, it was proved that the 
roots of plants not in contact with the soil, could not 
absorb moisture from dam]^ air, and we thus have a 
demonstration 'Hhat the clay soil, which condenses 
vapor in its pores, and holds it as hygroscopic water, 
yields it again to the plant, and thus becomes the 
medium through which water is continuously carried 
from the atmosphere into vegetation." The absorption, 
or condensation of the diffused vapor of water in the 
atmosphere by soils, and its utilization by crops, is facil- 
itated by the minute subdivision and porosity of the 
surface, that can only be secured by thorough drainage 
and tillage, and when these ameliorating agencies are 
supplemented by the accumulation of organic matters 
from the root residues of previous crops, or the applica- 
tion of manures, the atmospheric supplies of water in 
time of drouths must be of considerable importance. 

Air-dried soils may contain from ^'0.6 to 10 or 
more per cent." of hygroscopic water, but we do not 
know what proportion of this may be absorbed by plants, 
under average conditions, when other sources of supply 
are exhausted. In the last-mentioned experiment by 
Sachs the percentage of hygroscopic moisture in the 
soil probably remained nearly constant, the loss arising 
from exhalation by the leaves being replaced at once by 
fresh supplies from the atmosphere. Under less extreme 
conditions the moisture condensed by soils from the air 
serves to supplement and conserve the capillary water of 
the soil that is more readily appropriated by plants, and 
constitutes, as has already been stated, their chief source 

*How Crops Feed, p. 208. 



DRAIKING llETENTIVE SOILS. 93 

of suppl3\ Sachs made experiments with tobacco plants 
in three kinds of soil, to determine the extent to which 
the capillary and hygroscopic water contained in them 
could be used by plants, with the following results : 

TABLE 20. 

Percentage of Soil watek, Absorbed by Tobacco Plants, in 
SACHS' Experiments. 



Soils. 


Percentage of 

water the soil 

could hold. 


Percentage 

remaining in 

the soil wlien 

the plants 
failed to grow. 


Difference, or 

percentage 

used by the 

plants. 


Black Imnius and sand. . 
Loam 


46.0 

52.1 
20.8 ' 


12.3 
8.0 
1.5 


33.7 
44.1 


Coarse sand 


19.3 







From this table it appears that soils not only differ 
in their capacity to at>sorb water, which has already been 
noticed, but they likewise differ widely in the amount 
they are enabled to retain, or withhold from plants when 
most needed by them. The sandy soil had the least 
capacity for moisture, taking up but 20.8 per cent, of 
its own weight, but it gave up all but 1.5 per cent, for 
the benefit of the plants. The loam had the greatest 
capacity for absorbing water, and it withheld but 8.0 
per cent, from the plants, while the humus and sand, 
with less capacity for absorption, refused to give up 12.3 
per cent, of its contained water. 

It should likewise be remarked that different species 
of plants present great differences in their power to take 
up hygroscopic water from a given soil, as shown in 
their relative ability to withstand the effects of drouth. 
By draining retentive soils, and the practice of thorough 
tillage, and the judicious application of manures, these 
differences in the soils themselves, and in the plants 
growing on them, are reduced to a minimum, and there 
is greater uniformity and certainty in the growth of 
crops of different kinds, especially in seasons of severe 
drouth. 

Drained Soils are Reservoirs for Holding 
Water. We have seen that crops, in their processes of 



94 LAJS'D DRAIIS^XG. 

growth, require several hundred tons of water per acre, 
in the course of the season, for their perfect deyelop- 
ment, and the results of exj^eriments show that retentiye 
soils that are thoroughly drained to the depth of four 
feet have a capacity for storing water, that is often in 
excess of the requirements of the crop which they are 
otherwise fitted to grgw. Moreover, this store of capil- 
lary water is supiDlemented by supplies obtained from 
the subsoil by capillary attraction, and from the diffused 
vapor of water in the atmosphere by surface condensa- 
tion. When retentive soils are thoroughly drained, the 
mass of soil above the level of the drains becomes, in 
effect, a storage reservoir for retaining capillary water 
for the use of plants in time of drouth, and if this stored 
water is not, in itself, sufficient for the requirements of 
the crop, the improved porosity or capillarity of the soil 
provides means of increasing it by considerable supplies 
from other sources. 

The advantages of draining, then, are not limited 
to the removal of the hydrostatic water that interferes 
with the growth of plants on soils naturally wet, or the 
discharge of the rainfall that may be in excess of the 
wants of vegetation ; they are alike manifest in prevent- 
ing injury to crops from the extreme conditions pre- 
sented in seasons of prevailing drouth and excessive 
rainfall. Capital expended in draining retentive soils 
may, therefore, be considered, in part at least, as a per- 
manent insurance investment against losses from unfa- 
vorable seasons, and to secure a reasonably uniform and 
remunerative yield of crops. 

Crop Statistics of Good and Bad Seasons. 
One potent factor in reducing the profits of agriculture, 
is the low yield of crops obtained in unfavorable seasons, 
which must be largely attributed to insufficient drainage, 
in connection with its unavoidable concomitant of imper- 
fect tillage. At the present time there is, in fact, no 



DRAINING RETENTIVE SOILS. 95 

problem in practical farm economy of greater import- 
ance than that of diminishing the losses that are so fre- 
quently caused by adverse climatic conditions, and 
securing a uniform return for the capital invested and 
labor expended in crop production. 

The statistics of Indian corn, in two of the leading 
States in its production, in the years 1880 and 1889, 
compared with the years 1881 and 1887, will be sufficient 
to illustrate the significance of seasonal variations in 
crops in determining the average profits of farming. In 
five years of the preceding decade the average yield per 
acre was higher than in 1880 or 1889, and these seasons 
are selected as representing not more than the average 
yield of good seasons. Between these years was a period 
of low production, only two years (1885 and 1888), giv- 
ing an average yield, and the lowest yield was in 1881 
and 1887. 

The difference in the average yield of corn per acre 
in 1880 and 1881, was in Iowa, 12.2 bushels ; in Illinois, 
7.8 bushels ; and in the United States, 9 bushels ; which 
represents an aggregate loss in the unfavorable season of 
1881. of 81,804,000 bushels in Iowa; 70,953,000 bushels 
in Illinois; and 578,358,000 bushels in the United 
States. The difference in average yield of corn per acre 
in 1887 and 1889, was in Iowa, 14.0 bushels; in Illinois, 
13.1 bushels; and in the United States, 6.9 bushels; 
which represents a loss from the unfavorable season of 
1887, of 100,746,000 bushels in Iowa; 96,257,000 in Illi- 
nois, and 500,509,000 bushels in the United States. 
The highest yields per acre in 1880 and 1889, on which 
the above estimates are based, were 39.5 bushels in Iowa, 
32.3 bushels in Illinois, and 27.6 bushels in the United 
States, or considerably below what is realized by the 
best farmers in average seasons. When we consider, in 
connection with this, that all farm crops are subject to 
the same fluctuations in yield, to which attention has 



96 LAND DRAIl^^II^G. 

been called in the case of corn, it must be seen that the 
influence of unfavorable seasons in diminishing the 
profits of agriculture are not likely to be overestimated. 
Moreover, the effects of bad seasons on undrained 
retentive soils, resulting from either an excess or defi- 
ciency of rainfall are not limited to the low yield of pro- 
duce for the year, as their impaired physical and biolog- 
ical conditions are not readily corrected and they have 
a marked influence in diminishing the yield of crops in 
the most favorable seasons. 



CHAPTEE VI. 

Progress of Discovert ajs^d Inyektion. 

The history of agriculture is but a repetition of fre- 
quently recurring cycles of empirical methods of prac- 
tice, which have culminated, from time to time through 
the teachings of experience, on the same ultimate level, 
with few indications of real progress aside from what 
have arisen from the improved implements furnished by 
the mechanic arts, which have economized labor and 
made it more efficient. In each age we find the same 
practical problems presented, which are viewed by farm- 
ers from the same standpoint, and, ignoring the lessons 
of the past, the same means of solving them are suggested 
by experience, with the result that the familiar methods 
of former times are repeated and announced as new dis- 
coveries, that are evidence of material improvement in 
the practice of the art. 

Even the achievements of science, in its applications 
to agriculture, in the past half century, have not been 
sufficient to correct the tendency to a recurrence of 
these cycles of discovery and apparent progress, from 



DISCOVERY AKD INVENTION. 97 

the attempt on the part of many investigators to solve 
all problems that may arise, by the results obtained in 
superficial experiments, made from the standpoint of a 
single line of investigation, without taking into account 
the complexity of the phenomena under discussion, and 
their dependent relations to other departments of science 
that are quite as significant. 

A review of some of the leading facts in the history 
of land draining will aid us in gaining a rational knowl- 
edge of the principles on which the best methods of 
practice are founded, while it serves to illustrate the 
cycles of progress in agriculture. The draining of wet 
lands must have been practiced long before we have any 
written records of agriculture. There can be no doubt 
that the first drains were open ditches for removing 
water from swamps and low grounds that could not 
otherwise be made to grow useful crops, and water-fur- 
rows to discharge surface-water from fields, or to protect 
them from being overflowed by water from adjacent land. 
The defects of a system of draining by open ditches 
were so obvious that covered drains were at once suof- 
gested, where they were thought to be admissible, and 
directions are given for making both open and covered 
drains, by the earliest writers on agriculture, whose 
works have been preserved. The construction of 
embankments as a protection from floods, and the prac- 
tice of irrigation in time of drouths, had their origin, 
likewise, in the pre-historic period. 

Cato, who wrote in the second century before the 
Christian era, gave the first specific directions for drain- 
ing that we are acquainted with, but there is evidence 
that extensive embankments and irrigation works for 
the control of water, in the interests of agriculture, 
were made .by the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians 
many centuries before his time. Cato says, ''In the 
winter it is necessary that th^ water be let off from the 
7 



98 LAND DRAIN'ING. 

fields. On a declivity it is necessary to have many 
drains. When the first of the autumn is rainy there is 
the greatest danger from water ; when it begins to rain 
the whole of the servants ought to go out with sarcles, 
and other iron tools, open the drains, turn the water 
into its channels, and take care of the corn fields, that 
it flow from them. Wherever the water stagnates 
amongst the growing corn, or in other parts of the corn 
fields, or in the ditches, or where there is anything that 
obstructs its passage, that should be removed, the ditches 
opened, and the water let away." When treating of the 
culture of olives, he says, *'If the place is wet, it is 
necessary that the drains be made shelving, three feet 
broad at the top, four feet deep, and one foot and a 
quarter wide at the bottom. Lay them in the bottom 
with stones. If there are no stones to be got, lay them 
with green willow rods, placed contrary ways; if rods 
cannot be got, tie twigs together."* 

In the next century Varro repeats Cato's directions 
for draining, and Virgil refers to the importance of irri- 
gation in drouths. Columella and Pliny, the best 
known writers on agriculture in the first century of the 
Christian era, lay down rules for draining, in which 
some details are mentioned that were not noticed by the 
earlier writers. They both recommend open ditches in 
heavy soils, *^but where the ground is more loose, some 
of them are made open, and others of them are also shut 
up and covered ; so that the gaping mouths of such of 
them as are blind may empty themselves into those that 
are open."f They follow Cato in making open ditches, 
wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, ^'^for such of 
them whose sides are perpendicular, are presently spoiled 
with the water, and filled up with the falling down of 
the ground that lies uppermost."! 

* Dickson's Husb. of the Ancients, Vol. I, pp. 358, 366. 
t Columella "Of Husl)anclry,'^ook 2, Cluip. 2. Pliny's Nat. Hist.^ 
Book 18, Cliap. 8. 
$ Columella, 1. c. 



DISCO VKRY AND INVENTION. 99 

Pliny, however, makes the additional suggestion 
that a hedge on the banks of an open ditch will 
"strengthen it," and ** when these drains are made on 
a declivity, they should have a layer of gutter tiles at 
the bottom, or else house tiles with the face upwards," 
to prevent washing. These covered drains are trenches 
half filled with stones or gravel, or "a rope of sprays 
tied together," and fitted in the bottom, and the whole 
covered with the earth that had been thrown out. The 
depth, however, recommended by Columella, is but 
thre3 feet. That these open and covered drains, from 
three to four feet deep, were only made in swampy 
places, or where the soil was saturated with water from 
springs, is evident from the frequent directions given 
for making water-furrows, to protect the crops from sur- 
face water, particularly in the fall and winter months.* 

Columella, however, displays a knowledge of the 
principles of thorough drainage, when he calls attention 
to the treatment of the "broad plots of ground," on 
which the crops fail to grow. "It is proper that marks 
should be set on these bare spots, that, at a proper time, 
we may cure diseases of this kind; for when either this 
ousiness, or any other pest, entirely kills the corn, then 
we ought to spread pigeons' dung, or, if this cannot be 
had, Cyprus leaves, and then plow them into the ground. 
But the pi'incijml remedy of all is to make a deep fur row, 
and tlierehy drain and convey from tlience all moisture; 
otherwise the aforesaid remedies will le useless and have 
no effect. " f 

Palladius, in the third or fourth century, repeats the 
maxims of the earlier writers on draining, and, with 
Columella, gives three feet as a proper depth for drains. 
These old Eomans were the sole authorities on draining, 

*Colimiena, 1. c, Book 2, Chap. 9, Book 11, Cliap. 2, etc. Plii)y, 1. c, 
Book 18, Chaps. 49 and 64. 
tL. c, Book2, Chap.9, 



100 LAND DRAH^Ii^TG. 

and their methods were practiced, without any improye- 
ment, for more than a thousand years. A new era in 
draining literature was begun with the publication of a 
'^ broadside/^ by an anonymous writer in England, in 
1583, with the claim, '^Herein is taught, eyen for the 
capacity of the meanest, how to drain moores, and all 
other wet grounds or bogges, and lay them dry f oreyer ; " * 
and the aj)pearance in France, in 1600, of the ^'Theatre 
of Agriculture,^^ by Oliver de Serres, the Lord of Pre- 
del, in Languedoc. f 

In the last mentioned work, drains four feet deep 
are recommended, '^in order to cut off the source of 
springs, which is the special aim of this business." The 
trenches are half filled with stones, and the excavated 
earth packed above them, making a covered drain ^'^for 
the commodiousness of tillage." When stones cannot 
be obtained, an open water-way is secured, by contract- 
ing the trench one foot from the bottom, and leaving a 
shoulder on each side, on which bundles of straw are 
placed to support the earth with which the trench is 
filled. This appears to be the only improvement sug- 
gested in the construction of drains, since the time of 
the Romans. 

It is evident that deep open, or covered drains were 
not in common use at this time, as they are only inci- 
dentally mentioned in the ponderous folio of over 700 
pages, published in London in 1616, called "Maison 
Enstique, or The Countrey Farme, compyled in the 
rronch Tongue," by Stevens and Liebault, and trans- 
lated into English by Richard Surflet, ^^with divers 
large additions out of the works of Serres, his agiicul- 
ture," etc., "and the Husbandrie of France, Italic and 
Spaine, reconciled and made to agree with ours here in 
England, By Gervaise Markham." 

* Gisborne Agricixltural Drainage, p. 74. 

tKlippart's Laud Drainage, p. 7. Loudon's Encycl. of Ag'l, p. 1214. 



DISCOVERY AND INVENTION. 101 

In this elaborate work, covering the entire field of 
agriculture, as then practiced, including many "secrets" 
of veterinary practice, the references to draining are 
brief, and confined, in the main, to directions for throw- 
ing land in ridges, and the opening of water-furrows. 
''Meadow grounds must also be verie well drained from 
water, if they be subject thereunto, and sluces and 
draines made either by plough, spade, or other instru- 
ment, which may convey it from one sluce to another 
till it fall into some ditch or river." "Likewise, if 
there be anie marish or dead water in anie part of your 
meadow, you must cause the same to runne and drayne 
out by some Conduits and Trenches; for without all 
peradventure, the super-aboundance of water doth as 
much harme as the want scarcitie, or lacke of the same." 
If the soil "be within any daunger of water, or subject 
to a spewing and moist qualitie ; then you shall lay your 
lands high, raising up ridges in the middest and furrowes 
of one side, and according as the moisture is more or 
lesse, so you shall make the ridges high or low, and the 
descent greater or lesse ; but if your ground, besides the 
moisture, or by meanes of the too much moisture, be 
subject to much binding, then you shall make the lands 
a great deale lesse, laying everie four or five furrowes 
round like a land, and making a hollowness between 
them, so that the earth may be light and drie."* 

While the knowledge relating to draining, and the 
prevailing practice of the best farmers at the beginning 
of the seventeenth century were, in all probability, fairly 
presented in these books, there is evidence that at about 
this time, or soon afterwards, important improvements 
were made in the construction of drains by individuals, 
which, from the lack of means of communication, were 
not made public, and of which we have no written 
records. 



Maison Rustique, pp. 494, 498, 530. 



102 LAXD DRAINING. 

The garden of the monastery of Maubeuge, in 
France, had been noted for its fertility and the quality 
and earliness of its fruit. This was finally accounted 
for by the discovery of a system of pipe drains that had 
been laid at a depth of four feet '^^ throughout the whole 
garden/' and the indications were that this had been 
done previous to 1620. The pipes were '^^ about ten 
inches long and four inches in diameter," one end of 
which was flaring, or funnel-shaped, and the other made 
tapering, to fit the expanded end of the adjoining pipe. 
These pipe-tile drains antedate any others of which we 
have any knowledge, more than two hundred years, but 
the history of the invention was lost, and it had no influ- 
ence on the development of the art of draining.* 

In the period from 1645 to 1655, a foundation was 
laid for an improved agriculture in England, through 
the influence of Sir Eichard Weston, Samuel Hartlib 
and Oapt. Walter Blith. The introduction of clover, 
and other green crops, including turnips, from ^^ Brabant 
and Flanders," by Sir Eichard Weston (1645), the 
industry of Hartlib, in collecting and publishing the 
experience of farmers in new methods, and with new 
forage crops (1645-55)), and Blith's advocacy of a diver- 
sified agriculture, in connection with a system of drain- 
ing low lands (1649-52), mark this as one of the most 
important epochs in the history of English agriculture, 
which we can only notice in its relations to draining, f 

^^ The English Imjyrover, or a new System of Hus- 
bandry," published by Blith, in London, 1649, was the 
first work in England in which a system of deep and 
thorough draining was recommended. A new edition 
soon appeared, and in 1652 ^^The Third Impression, 



*Knppart, 1. c, pp. 9, 12. 

tLondon, Encycl. of Ag'l, p. 46. Donaldson's Ag'l Biography, pp. 
21, 25. Copeland, Ag'l An. and Mod., Vol. 1, pp. 101, 107. Blith's Survey of 
Hnsb. Surveyed, 1652. Hartlib's Legacy of Husbandry, 1655. 



DlSCOVEllY AND INVENTION. 103 

much Augmented, with a Second Part containing Six 
newer Peeces of Improvement," was published under 
the imposing title of " The English Improver Improved, 
or the Survey of Husbandry Surveyed, Discovering the 
Improveableness of all Lands ; some to be under a double 
and Treble, others under a Five or Six Fould. And 
many under a Tenn fould, yea some under a Twenty 
fould Improvement, By Wa : Blith, a lover of Inge- 
nuity," which is dedicated in a lengthy epistle, ^^To the 
Kight Honorable the Lord General Cromwell." 

Tbe drains recommended by Blith are essentially 
the same as those described by the early Eoman writers 
on agriculture. Stones, ^^ green faggots, Willow, Alder, 
Elm or Thorn," being used to proyide a water way in 
covered drains, and his system is confined to the 
improvement of low lands. He is, however, entitled to 
credit for improved implements for cutting trenches, 
and his earnestness in urging the importance of deep 
and thorough drainage, in accordance with a definite 
plan. After urging the necessity of deep drains in 
boggy ground, he says, ^^But for these common and 
many Trenches, ofttimes crooked, too, that men usually 
make in their Boggy grounds, some one foot, some Two, 
never having respect to the cause or matter that maketh 
the Bog, to take that way, I say away with them as a 
great piece of Folly, lost labor and spoyl; which I 
desire as well to preserve the Eeader from, as to put 
him upon any profitable experiment ; for truly they do 
far more hurt than good, destroy with their Trench and 
Earth cast out, half their Land, danger their Cattell, 
and when the Trench is old it stoppeth more than it 
taketh away, & when it is new, as to the destroying the 
Bog it doth just nothing, onley take away a little water 
which falles from the heavens, and weakens the Bog 
nothing at all, and to the end it pretends is of no 
use, for the cause thereof lyeth beneath and under the 



104 LAND DRAININ^G. 

bottom of all their workes, and so remaines as fruitfull to 
the Bog as before, and more secure from reducement 
than if nothing was done at all upon it." Blith found 
few followers in his methods of draining, and more than 
a century elapsed before any improvements in the art 
were made. 

Elkington's System. Joseph Elkington, a War- 
wickshire farmer, practiced draining for more than 
thirty years, with considerable success, by a secret pro- 
cess which he claimed to have discovered in 1764. At 
the request of the Board of Agriculture in 1795, Parlia- 
ment made a grant of £] ,000 to Elkington for his secret. 
In 1796 Mr. John Johnston was sent out to accompany 
Mr. Elkington and learn his methods of practice, the 
results of which were published in 1797.* 

Dr. James Anderson, of Aberdeen, Scotland, had, 
however, published an '^ Essay on Agriculture and Eural 
Affairs," in 1775, in which he describes a method of 
draining by ^^ tapping the springs," which is essentially 
the same as that practiced by Elkington, and we are 
informed by Oopeland that the same method had been 
practiced in Italy ''from a very ancient date."f This 
method is only applicable in special cases, where the 
water of springs is held back by impervious strata, that 
can be perforated by boring in the bottom of the ditch, 
so that the water, rising through the auger hole, is dis- 
charged by the drain, which may be left open or covered. 
Elkington adopted the methods of making covered 
drains, that had been practiced in several counties in 
England, which consisted in partly filling the trenches 
with stones, brush or straw, and in some cases channels 



* 'An Account of the most Approved Mode of Draining Land, 
According to tlie System Practiced by Mr. Joseph EUcington," Edin- 
burgh, 1797, pp. v-x and 5-6. 

t A Practical Treatise on Draining Bogs and Swampy Grounds, by 
James Anderson, London, 1797, p. 4. Copeland, Ag'l Ancient and Mod- 
ern, VoL 1, p. 664. 



DISCOVERY AND INVENTION". 105 

for water were built with bricks of peculiar form made 
for the purpose ; or horse-shoe tiles, with a broad flange 
at the bottom, were sometimes used, as shown in fig. 5. 
Stones were, however, preferred, when they could, be 
readily obtained, as they cost less. 

Elkington's system of draining must not be con- 
founded with the method of boring, or digging pits in 
the bottom of ditches, to discharge water to a lower 
pervious stratum of soil, which had been practiced many 
years before. Dr. Nugent, in his travels in Germany, 
in 1766, described this method of draining marshes that 
had no available outlet. ^^A pit is dug in the deepest 
part of the moor, till they come below the obstructing 
clay, and meet with such a spongy stratum as, in all 
appearance, will be sufficient to imbibe the moisture of 
the marsh above it." * Covered drains are then made, dis- 
charging into the pit, which is protected with flat stones 
and covered with earth. 

In the first quarter of the present century tiles of 
better form than those previously used were brought 
into notice, but, on the whole, the practice of draining 
had made but little progress since the time of Cato, as 
attention was exclusively directed to the draining of 
swamps and low lands, or the removal of the water of 
springs from higher lands, and, in most cases, the rude 
methods of making a water way with stones and brush 
in covered drains, were essentially the same as described 
by the Eoman writers on agriculture. The better 
methods which, from time to time, had been adopted by 
individuals who appeared to be in advance of the age in 
which they lived, were not widely known, and they, in 
fact, had been neglected and forgotten. The tile drains 
in the garden of the Monastery of Maubeuge, already 
mentioned, are not the only illustration of a lost art in 
the history of draining. George Stephens, in The Prac- 

* Elkington's Draining, 1797, p 56. 



106 LAND DRAIKIITG. 

tical Irrigator and Drainer, published in 1834, says : 
'^In draining the park at Grimsthorpe, Lincolnshire, 
about three years ago, some drains, made with tiles, 
were found eiglit feet heloiv the surf ace of the ground; 
the tiles were similar to what are now used, and in as 
good a state of preservation as when first laid, although 
they must have remained there above one hundred years." 
Old methods were blindly copied, or, perhaps, in some 
cases, they were re-invented, as the most obvious expe- 
dients for removing water from low lands by means of 
materials already at hand, but there was no indication 
of a knowledge of the principles on which the best mod- 
ern practice is founded. 

Deanston System. The time was, however, ripe 
for the development and general adoption of a better 
system of draining, even at the beginning of the century. 
The Board of Agriculture had just completed agricul- 
tural surveys of the counties of G-reat Britain, and 
increased attention was given to improvements in the 
practice of agriculture. Among those who were taking 
an active interest in the progress of agriculture, Mr. 
Buchanan, a retired manufacturer of Deanston, in 
Perthshire, Scotland, is entitled to especial notice, for 
his success in draining the heavy clays on his farm, at 
Catrine Bank, in the humid climate of Ayrshire, which 
proved to be the prelude of our present system of 
draining. 

His nephew, James Smith, when gaining a univer- 
sity education, spent his vacations with his uncle on the 
Ayrshire farm, where he witnessed and became inter- 
ested in the ameliorating influence of frequent drains 
(eighteen inches deep) on the retentive clay soils, which, 
under other management, had been unproductive. ''^At 
the early age of eighteen years (1807) Mr. Smith was 
appointed manager of the Deanston works, that had 
become the property of a company of which his uncle 



DISCOVERY a:n^d inven-tion". 107 

was partner."* His energy and successful business 
methods, and the provisions made for the education and 
comfort of his *' work-people/' soon gained for the 
Deans ton Cotton Works the reputation of a model indus- 
trial establishment. 

In 1823 his early interest in the improvement of 
clay soils by drainage was revived, and he began to 
improve the farm of two hundred acres connected with 
the property, by thorough draining with *^ parallel drains 
sixteen to twenty feet apart, and twenty-seven inches 
deep." In March, 1833, he first published the results 
of his experience in an article on " Thorough Draining 
and Deep Ploughing, ^^ contributed to a local agricultural 
report, which was favorably received, and ^^ Smith of 
Deanston" became widely known as the originator of a 
new departure in farm draining. 

In 1836, he gave "a more lucid exposition" of his 
methods, in another article, ^' On Thorough Draining 
and Deep Ploughing, ^^ \ in which he says : *^The prin- 
ciple of the system is the providing of frequent oppor- 
tunities for the water rising from helotu, or falling on 
the surface, to pass freely and completely off, and there- 
fore the most appropriate appellation for it seems to 
be 'The Frequent Drain SystemJ^^ His uncle, Mr. 
Buchanan, made his drainS' in Ayrshire eighteen inches 
deep and twelve feet apart. Mr. Smith's drains, at 
Deanston, were at first made twenty-seven inches deep 
and sixteen to twenty feet apart, but in his final paper, 
giving the results of his more extended experience, he 
says : *'The main should be, at least, three feet, and, 
if possible, three and one-half or four feet under the 
surface," and the laterals from ten to forty feet apart, 
according to the retentiveness of the subsoil. 

* Donaldson's Ag'l Biog., p. 123, 

t Fanners' Magazine, Vol. V, p. 373. 



108 LAiq^r> drai>n"ixg. 

Mr. Smith was the first writer to recommend the 
thorough draining of high lands, and his reasons for the 
practice are therefore of interest. After a brief refer- 
ence to Elkington's system, he says : ^^The portion of 
land wetted by water springing from below bears but a 
very small proportion to that which is in a wet state 
from the retention of the water which falls upon the sur- 
face in the state of rain, and a vast extent of the arable 
land of Scotland and England, generally esteemed dry, is 
yet so far injured by the tardy and imperfect escape of 
the water, especially in winter and during long periods 
of wet weather in spring and summer, that the worlcing 
of the land is often difficult and precarious, and its fer- 
tility much below luhat would uniformly exist under a 
state of thorough dryness. A system of drainage, there- 
fore, generally applicable, and effecting complete and 
uniform dryness, is of the utmost importance to the 
agricultural interests, and through them, to all the inter- 
ests of the country. By the system here recommended 
this is attained, whilst the expense is moderate, and the 
permanency greater than on any other system yet 
known." The distinctive features of the Smith of 
Deanston system may be summed up as follows : 

1st. Main drain in bottom of chief hollow at least 
three feet, or, if possible, three and one-half to four feet 
deep, with a uniform slope. 

2d. Frequent drains ten to forty feet apart. 

3d. Drains parallel, at regular distance over the 
whole field, without reference to the wet or dry appear- 
ance of portions of the field. 

4th. Drains running directly down the slope. 

5th. Stones preferred to tiles on the grounds of 
cheapness and permanency. 

Notwithstanding Mr. Smith's originality and inde- 
pendence, he was apparently biased by the popular prej- 
udice against tiles, on account of the assumed difficulty 



DISCOVERY AKD HTVEXTION". 



109 



of the entrance of water to the drains, and when tiles 
were used he placed a layer of stones oyer them, as 
shown in the following figures, copied from his paper 
of 1836. 




f lagged Main 



Arched Main 




SmaJlTile DoubleTile LatgeTile Inverted Couple 




Fig. 4. Sections of Dkains, aftek Smith of Deanston. 

The layer of stones over the tiles do no good, and 
needlessly increase the expense of draining, and they 
should not be considered as a characteristic feature of 
the Deanston system, but rather a conformity to a com- 
mon practice that had its origin in a misconception of 
the manner in which water enters drains, which will be 
discussed in another chapter. 



110 LAK^D deai:n^is^g. 

In " The Practical Irrigator and Drainer ^''^ 1834, 
by George Stephens, we are told that stones are better 
than tiles, and where the latter are used they should be 
coyered with, at least, six or eight inches of stones, and, 
^^in any case, however, where tiles are used, the space 
above them mnst be filled to the surface of the ground 
with some porous material, otherwise the drains will be 
useless, and the undertaking will prove a complete fail- 
ure." From Mr. Smith's knowledge of general princi- 
ples, and his sound judgment in other particulars, it is 
strange that he should have followed the common prac- 
tice, which was founded in error. 

^^ Smith, of Deanston," was an earnest advocate of 
the advantages of deep plowing and thorough tillage, in 
connection with his system of draining, as the title of 
his papers indicate. He invented a subsoil plow, that 
was used with the best results, on his farm of two 
hundred acres, stirring the soil to the depth of sixteen 
inches. Among the incidental advantages of draining 
high lands, he made the suggestion that the "absence 
of ridges and prevalence of a uniform and smooth sur- 
face," would facilitate the use of reaping machinery, 
which he predicted would very soon be employed on 
every farm. 

In the industrial arts, the great discoveries, or 
inventions, are so often made, at about the same time, 
by a number of individuals acting independently, that 
they seem to be the result of the development of the 
age, rather than the prerogative of individual genius. 
The progress made in the common stock of intelligence 
and knowledge, apparently determines the possibilities 
and direction of the work of discovery and invention. 
The system of draining invented by Smith, of Deanston, 
furnishes another illustration of this well-known fact, 
but it does not, in the least, diminish his well-earned 
reputation as the exponent of an improved system of 



DISCOVERY AND INVENTION. Ill 

great practical value. Mr. Ph. Pusey, M. P., in 1842, 
informs us tliat he had obtained conclusive evidence 
that a system of draining, essentially the same as th t 
described by Mr. Smith, had been practiced in Suffolk 
for more than forty years (some of his correspondents 
say 100 years), and that for a long time it had likewise 
been practiced in Essex, *^so much so as to be called 
the Essex system, even in Scotland."* It likewise 
appears to have been known quite as long in Norfolk 
and Hertfordshire. 

At the beginning of the present century, when Mr. 
Buchanan was draining the tenacious upland clays of 
his Ayrshire farm, the farmers of Essex, Suffolk and 
Norfolk, and other counties of England, were using the 
same means of ameliorating retentive soils, but they 
had no Smith of Deanston to formulate their improved 
methods as a system of general application, and they 
were soon neglected, and finally only known through 
tradition, or the exposure of their work in subsequent 
excavations, under conditions that indicated the time of 
its performance. These improved methods, like the 
tiles in the garden of the monastery of Maubeuge, and 
in the park in Lincolnshire, which we have noticed, 
were forgotten, as there was no written record of their 
history, and the time had not come for a general appre- 
ciation of their value as a means of agricultural improve- 
ment. The history of agriculture abounds in illustra- 
tions of the re-discovery of old methods that are dressed 
up and announced as representing the latest development 
of the art, without any marked advance in the funda- 
mental principles of a correct practice. 

In 1842, the interest taken by farmers in the subject 
of draining, as the Smith of Deanston system became 
better known, led the Royal Agricultural Society to 
offer a prize of *^ Fifty Sovereigns, or a piece of Plate 

* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1842, Vol. Ill, p. 170. 1843, Vol. IV, pp. 23-49. 



112 LAND DRAINING. 

of that value/' for an essay on "the best mode of Under 
Draining Land."* The prize was awarded to Tliomas 
Arkell, a Wiltshire farmer, in the following year, but 
the essay contained nothing of permanent value, as his 
methods of draining were the results of his own personal 
experience, uninfluenced by what had already been done 
by others, and the discussion of principles did not fairly 
represent the best practice of the time. 

Deanston System Improved. Mr. Josiah Parkes, 
consulting engineer of the Eoyal Agricultural Society, 
was the first to suggest any improvement on the Smith 
of Deanston system. In 1843 he made a "Keport on 
Drain Tiles and Drainage," the society having offered a 
'^premium of ten sovereigns for the drain tile which 
should fulfill certain specified conditions," in which he 
describes the different forms of tiles exhibited, f. He 
urges the advantages of pipe-tiles, which, he says, were 
first made thirty-five years before in Kent, "by bending 
a sheet of clay, as usually prepared for the common 
drain-tile, over a wooden cylindric mandrel. In conse- 
quence of the imperfect union of the two faces of the 
clay, a narrow slit was left throughout the length of the 
tile, which served, and was then thought necessary, to 
admit the water." The pipe-tiles exhibited were from 
one inch to two and one-fourth inches in diameter, and 
the sole tiles from one and one-half to two and three- 
fourths inches, and Mr. Parkes cites the experience of 
several farmers to show that the small pipes of one inch 
had a sufficient capacity for thoroughly draining the land. 

In remarks on the use of these small pipes, he says : 
"the principle that less frequent hut very deep drains 
are equally effective with more numerous and shallower 
ones, is recognized by these intelligent and practical 
farmers. It must also be considered as a discovery of 



* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1843, p. 319. 
t J. R. Ag. Soc, 1843, p. 369. 



DISCOVERY AND IKVEKTION^. 113 

no slight national importance, that experience has proved 
a very much smaller area of drain to suffice for passing 
the water filtrating through an acre of land, than has 
hitherto been imagined ; for it is mainly owing to the 
substantiation of this fact, that the pipe- tile of the 
eastern counties, and Mr. Etheredge's small tiles and 
covers (horse-shoe tiles with a sole) can be supplied with 
such a remarkable economy, in comparison with the old 
tile, and with most other materials hitherto employed 
in drainage." 

Another decided improvement brought out by Mr. 
Parkes, was in the method of covering the tiles. For- 
mer writers, as we have seen, insisted that a covering of 
stones or other porous material was necessary when tiles 
were used. The fallacy of this assumption is shown, by 
Mr. Parkes, in the experience of Mr. John Taylor, of 
Kent, who used tiles one and one-half inches in diame- 
ter. He says, **I have my drains dug from three feet six 
inches to four feet deep ; the bottom of the dram is left 
for the pipe to quite fill it, so that it is impossible for the 
pipe to move after it is put into the drain. Clay is then 
2vell rammed over the pipes to two feet in depth, which 1 
prefer to anything else when it can be got to cover the 
tiles." Mr. Taylor, who was a tenant farmer, then 
remarks, "I have thoroughly drained forty acres, and 
have many other fields partly drained. I should be 
glad to drain the whole farm, which contains abont 
three hundred acres, provided my landlady would find 
tiles ; or I wonld gladly pay five per cent, upon the out- 
lay, but I am sorry to say, she discontinues to support 
that first step of improvement, land-draining,^^ "^ 

In 1844, in a letter to ^^Ph. Pusey, Esq., M. P." 
''1. On the Influence of Water on the Temperature of 
Soils. 2. On the Quantity of Eain-water and its Dis- 
charge by Drains," Mr. Parkes made a valuable contri- 

* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1843, p. 378. 



114 



LAND DRAINING. 



bution, to our knowledge, of fclie principles of draining, 
and pointed out improyements on the Smith of Deanston 
system that led to the development of the best modern 
practice. He made a judicious and consistent applica- 
tion of the known facts of science at the time, and gave 
the results of his own experiments on the temperature 
of drained and undrained soils, in connection with the 
experiments of Mr. Dickinson, on the relations of rain- 
fall to drainage and evaporation, which we have quoted 
in a preceding chapter. He recommends the use of 
small pipes for laterals, and "parallel drains consider- 
ably deeper and less frequent than those commonly 
advocated by professed drainers, or in general use." 
After a review of the actual and relative cost and eflB- 
ciency of drains that had been made at different distances 
and depths in retentive soils, he sums up the results in 
the following table : 

TABLE 21. 

MASS OF Soil Drained and Cost of Draining for Different 
Depths and Distances of Tiles. 



Depth of 

drains in 

feet. 


Distance be- 
tween the 
drains in feet. 


Mass of soil 

drained per 

acre in cubic 

yards. 


Mass of soil 
drained for Id 
in cubic yards. 


Surface of soil 
drained for Id 
in square yds. 


2 
3 
4 


24 
33i 
50 


3226* 
4840" 
6453 


4.10 

8.93 

12.00 


6.27 
8.93 
8.96 



This table represents the results of the experience 
of Mr. Thomas Hammond, of Kent, who made many 
experiments in draining, to which Mr. Parkes frequently 
refers in his papers. An experiment made on the influ- 
ence of depth on the discharge from tile drains was 
reported as follows: With reference to "the quantity 
of water discharged from different drains, after rain, 
in the same time," Mr. Parkes says: "I have only 
succeeded in obtaining sufficiently exact information 
from Mr. Hammond, whose intelligence had led him to 
make the experiment without any suggestion from me. 



DISCOVERY AND INVEKTIOK. 115 

He states, ^I found, after the late rains (Feb. 17, 1844), 
that a drain four feet deep ran eight pints of water in 
the same time that another three feet deep ran five pints, 
although placed at equal distances.' The circumstances 
under which this experiment was made, as well as its 
indications, deserve particular notice. The site was the 
hop-ground before referred to, which had been under- 
drained thirtj-five years since to a depth varying from 
twenty-four to thirty inches, and though the drains 
were laid somewhat irregularly and imperfectly, they 
had been maintained in good action. Mr. Hammond, 
however, suspecting injury to be still done to the plants 
and the soil by bottom water, which he knew to stagnate 
below the old drains, again underdrained the piece in 
1842 with inch pipes, in part to three feet, and in part 
to four feet in depth, the effect proving very beneficial. 
The old drains were left undisturbed, but thenceforth 
ceased running, the whole of the water f 3sing below 
them to the. new drains, as was to be expected. The 
distance between the new drains is twenty-six feet, their 
length one hundred and fifty yards, the fall identical, 
the soil clay. The experiment was made on two drains 
adjoining each other, i. e., on the last of the series of 
the three feet, and the first of the series of the four feet 
drains. The sum of the flow from these two drains, at 
the time of the trial, was nine hundred and seventy-five 
pounds per hour, or at the rate of nineteen and one-half 
tons per acre in twenty-four hours; the proportionate 
discharge, therefore, was twelve tons by the four-feet, 
and seven and one-half tons by the three-feet, drain. No 
springs affected the results."* 

The system of draining recommended by Mr. 
Parkes differs from that of Smitli of Deanston, in the 
greater distance between the drains, and the greater 

*J. R. Ag. Soc, 1844, p. 154. The discliarge is given in long tons of 
2,240 pounds. 



116 LAKD DRAIKIN"G. 

uniform depth, with the exclusive use of pipe tiles (one 
inch in diameter for laterals), covered directly with the 
earth thrown from the ditch. 

In 1846 Mr. Parkes presented further details in 
regard to his system of draining, in a lecture before the 
Eoyal Agricultural Society, in which he says, in regard 
to his own practice at that time: "drains are being 
executed at depths of from four to six feet, according to 
soil and outfall, and at distances varying from twenty to 
sixty-six feet ; complete efficiency being the end studied, 
and the proof of such efficiency being that, after a due 
period given for bringing about drainage action in soils 
unused to it, the water should not stand higher, or 
much higher, in a hole dug in the middle between a 
pair of drains, than the level of those drains."* 

He gives a number of examples illustrating the 
advantages of deep draining, discusses the causes of 
obstruction in drains, including deposits of oxide of 
iron, and claims that pipe tiles should alone be used, on 
the score of economy, efficiency and durability. Since 
that time but little has been added to our knowledge of 
principles, or methods of construction, by the numerous 
books on draining that have been published. 

Mr. John Johnston, of Geneva, N. Y., is entitled 
to the credit of making the first practical demonstration, 
in this country, of the advantages of thorough draining. 
In 1835 he imported sample tiles (of the horseshoe 
form) from Scotland, and began making them for his 
own use by hand, as all draining tiles were then made. 
In 1838 handmade tiles were manufactured at Water- 
ford, N. Y., and sold for twenty-four dollars per 
thousand. 

Evolutio:n^ of Drain Tiles. 

A brief description of the various forms of tiles that 
have been used in draining, and the reasons that have 

* J. R. Ag. Soc, 1846, p. 256. 



DISCOVERY AND IJNfVENTION. 117 

led to a succession of modified forms, and the final adop- 
tion of the round, or pipe-tile, as the only satisfactory 
one, will serve to illustrate some of the principles 
involved in the construction of permanent and efficient 
drains. 

From the house, or roofing tiles, used by the ancients, 
to prevent the washing of the earth in the bottom of 
drains, to the horseshoe form, made by bending a sheet 
of clay over a rounded surface, the transition is- quite 
natural. The horseshoe form was, in fact, the original 
type of draining tile which came into common use, and 
it was the only form practically known in England and 
the United States for several years. The change from 
the roofing tiles, which only served the purpose of pro- 
tection from washing, to the horseshoe tile, which fur- 
nished an open channel for the water, was not, however, 
made at once. Bricks of a peculiar form, for building a 
water way, or hollowed out on one side, to provide a 
channel for the water, were used in many localities, par- 
ticularly for the larger drains, before the invention or 
general introduction of horseshoe tiles, that now a]3pear 





Fig. 5. Draining Bricks and Tile, latter Part of the Last 
Century. 

to be the simplest device for the purpose. In the time 
of Elkington, bricks and tiles of the forms shown in fig. 
5 were used, to a limited extent, but they were too 
expensive for farm drainage. When the bottom of the 
ditch was firm they were used as represented in the fig- 
ure, but in soft ground, the right and left hand forms 



118 



LAITD DEAIKIN'G. 




were inverted, and another placed on top of them, to 
form a closed channel. 

The cheaper and simpler horseshoe tile, fig. 6, soon 
superseded these crude and clumsy deyices for conduct- 
ing drainage water. The 
defects of the popular horse- 
shoe tile were numerous, 
and various plans for cor- 
recting them were tried. 

When there was but little K^^ tx5%s "^ 

fall in the course of the ^^\\^|Pl 

drain, obstructions were of ^sjf^ 

common occurrence from^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ;^^^_ 
the rising of the soft earth ing manner of fokming 
in the bottom of the drain, junctions. 

from the hydrostatic pressure of the soil water, until 
the tiles were completely filled with earth, or, when the 
fall was considerable, the tiles were undermined by the 
current of water, and dis])laced. 

From the mistaken notion that the tiles settled into 
the bottom of the drain, from the pressure above them, 
and thus became filled with earth, the lower edges of 
the sides of the tile were made thicker, forming a broad 
foot for the tiles to rest on. This was a common form 
of the horseshoe tile in this country, but it did not pre- 
vent the drains from filling with earth, and it could not, 
of course, remedy any other of the defects of this form 
of tile. In England, the 
two most obvious defects of 
this form of tiles were both 
corrected by flat sheets of 
burned clay, or soles, as 
they were popularly called, 
laid, as represented in fig. 
7, and '^^ tiles and soles," or 
quite generally adopted. As the expense and inconven- 




FiG. 7. Horseshoe Tiles and 

Soles, After Henry 

Stephens, I8i8. 

tiles and covers," were 



DISCOVERY AND INTVENTION". 119 

ience in handling and laying were increased by making 
the fciles in two pieces, the next step in the evolution of 
tiles was naturally suggested, and the sole was made a 
part of the tile itself, as represented in figs. 8 and 9, 
called" horseshoe pipe tiles" in England, and D, or "flat- 
soled tiles," in the United States. 



Fig. 8. Horseshoe pipe Tile, Fig. 9. Flat-Bottomed Pipe Tile 
After Henry Stephens, 1848. After French, 1859. 

This form of tiles was claimed to be a decided 
improvement on the horseshoe tiles, with a separate sole, 
but it had inherent defects that more than offset its 
assumed advantages. In the process of burning, the 
curved, or upper side of the tiles, was found to shrink 
more than the flat, or under side, and when they were 
laid on a true grade there were, more or less, wide open 
spaces at the top of the joint between two tiles, when 
their soles were in contact. Silt was readily admitted 
to the drain through these open joints, and its accumu- 
lation on the broad and flat bottom of the tiles was a 
frequent cause of obstruction. In the old form of tiles, 
with separate soles, the joints between the tiles were not 
as open, and obstructions from an accumulation of silt 
were not as liable to occur. 

The broad flat bottom in both kinds of tile was, 
however, a defect of considerable importance, especially 
when they were carelessly laid. When the fall was 
slight, and but little water was running in the drain, 
the force of the diffused current was not sufficient to 
move the particles of silt that happened to gain admis- 
sion at the imperfect joints; while, with the same fall, 
when the water is confined to a narrow direct channel, 
the silt would be carried along and discharged at the 



120 



LAKD DRAINING. 



outlet of the drain. Moreover, in laying tlie flat-bot- 
tomed tiles, any inequality in the surface on which they 
rested tilted them to one side or the other, and produced 
irregularities in the bore of the drain that diminished 
its capacity, by checking the current of water. 

Judge French sums up the defects of the flat-bot- 
tomed tiles as follows : ^'On the whole, solid tiles with 
flat-bottomed passages may be set down among the 
inventions of the adversary. They have not the claims 
even of the horseshoe form 
to respect, because they do 
not admit water better 
than round pipes, and are 
not united by a sole on 
which the ends of the adjoining tiles rest. They com- 
bine the faults of all other forms, with the peculiar vir- 




Fig. 10. EGG-SHAPED Pipe Tile, 
AFTER Stephens, 1848. 





Fig. 11. The Small Pipe 

Tile Dkain, aftek 

Stephens, 1848. 



Fig. 12. The Tile and Stone 
Drain, Aftek Steph- 
ens, 1844. 



tues of none." Tiles with an oval, or egg-shaped bore 
were at once suggested to obviate the most obvious 
defect of the flat-soled tiles. 



DISCOVERT AKD INVENTION". 121 

Henry Stephens, in the article on draining, in his 
Book of the Farm, published in 1844, does not mention 
the "horseshoe pipe," the "egg-shaped pipe," or the 
"round-pipe" tiles, but in the edition of 1848 all three 
forms are described, and of these he says: "the most 
perfect form of the orifice for a pipe-tile is egg-shaped 
(fig. 10) ; the narrow end of the Qgg making a round and 
narrow sole, the water will run upon it with force, and 
carry any sediment before it ; while the broad end pro- 
vides a larger space for the water when it rises to the 
top after heavy rains." He thinks the bottom may be 
thought too narrow for "security against sinking," but 
he obviates this by making the bottom of the trench nar- 
row and tapering, to fit the tile, as represented in fig. 11. 
This trench, he says, may be filled with earth, "but the 
best form of drain, in my opinion, is constructed with 
the egg-shaped tile and small broken stones, or clean 
large gravel," filled in to the depth of twelve inches, as 




Fig. 13. OvAx Sole Tile, After French, 1859. 

in fig. 12, the horseshoe and sole of his first edition (fig. 
12) being replaced with the improved, or oval form of 
tile of fig. 11. The practical difficulty of making a 
trench, as in fig. 11, to secure a reasonable degree of 
accuracy in the alignment of the tiles, prevented the 
general adoption of this method, that looked so well on 
paper, and, moreover, it was found that the uneven 
shrinking of the clay in burning made the joints quite 
as imperfect as with the flat-bottomed solid sole. To 
give the egg-shaped tiles a more stable foundation the 
sole was widened, to give a broad foot, as shown in 



122 



LAKD DRAINING. 



fig. 13, but even this did not prove to be an advantage. 
Judge French says these sole-tiles are ^^much used in 
America, more, indeed, than any other, except perhaps, 
the horseshoe tile ; probably because the first manufac- 
turers fancied them the best, and offered no others in 
the market." Theoretically, this appeared to be a per- 
fect form of tiles, but practically they were open to 
most of the objections to the D sole tiles, as it was dif- 
ficult to lay them to secure uniformity in the bore of 
the drain, and the open joints at the top readily- 
admitted silt. 

Bteijliens^ Book of the Farm was for many years 
looked upon as an authority on all subjects relating to 
agriculture, and his directions for draining were closely 
followed by writers on that subject, notwithstanding 





Fig. 14. After Dempsey, 1869. Fig. 15. After T)empsey, 1869. 

the better methods advocated by Parkes. As late as 
1869, an English writer* recommends the form of 
drains represented in figs. 14 and 15, and the latter he 
considers '' the most complete and undoubtedly perma- 
nent form of drain." 



!= Dempsey, On Drainage, p. 128. 




DISCOVERY AKD INVENTION. 123 

There can be no excuse for these survivals of igno- 
rance, as the best farmers had been practicing better 
methods for more than twenty-five years. The influ- 
ence of Stephens and his followers kept alive the 
unfounded prejudices against round pipe tiles and 
retarded their general introduction as the only perfect 
form, as Parkes had clearly demonstrated. Stephens* 
devotes nearly two pages to an enumeration of the 
"practically objectionable" defects of round pipes, and 
to remedy some of the gratuitous difficulties his fancy 
suggests, he figures a number of devices for connecting 
the ends of the tiles, among which is the perforated col- 
lar, fig. 16, and 
he fully indorses 
S^ the popular no- 
tion that water 
Fig. 16. Perfokated Collar to Connect ^ x -ppp/iiiv 

ROUND Pipe Tiles, After Stephens, 1848. can not reaauy 

gain access to a 
round pipe drain. With a better knowledge of correct 
principles, and improved methods of construction, we 
can now safely lay down the rule that round tiles should 
alone be used, as they have none of the defects of other 
forms, and they can be laid with greater accuracy and 
rapidity, and, on the whole, make much the best drain. 
Collars have frequently been looked upon as desira- 
ble by modern writers, especially when small tiles are 
used, but they serve no useful purpose, increase the 
expense, and they are now seldom used, as a better and 
more reliable drain can be made without them. 

Tile Draining Implements. 

The draining tools recommended from time to time 
by different writers have, with few exceptions, proved to 
be worthless, and it may be well to notice some of the 



^A Manual of Practical Draining, 1848, pp. 91 92. 



124 



LAND DRAII^IIN^G. 




Fig. 17. Draining Spades. 



obsolete forms, as well as those that have a practical 
value in economizing labor. 

The importance of diminishing, as far as possible, 
the amount of earth moved, by narrowing the trench 
towards the bottom, was at once recognized, when exten- 
sive draining opera- 
tions were in progress, 
and special tools were 
invented for that pur- 
pose. The really im- 
proved implements 
were, in most cases, 
the outcome of the re- 
sults of experience in 
the digging, and fin- 
ishing of the bottom 
of narrow trenches, 
but, unfortunately, 
many of the draining tools placed in the market, and 
figured in works on draining, were evidently invented 

by persons who had no 
practical knowledge of 
what was required to ac- 
complish the end in view, 
and they have proved to be 
useless. Spades of dif- 
ferent widths, and some- 
what tapering in the blade, 
to be used in succession to 
narrow the trench, were 
among the first improve- 
ments that proved to be 
Fig. 18. ROUND-POINTED DRAINING of practical value. In fig. 

17 is represented the spades 
used in making the trench for flat-bottomed tiles, and 
a slight change in form, fig. 18, was adopted in laying 




DISCOVERY AND INVENTION". 



125 



round, or pipe tiles, the rounded point aiding in forming 

a groove in the bottom of the trench, in which the tiles 
are bedded. The draining spades now in 
use for cutting the lower part of a narrow 
trench, are of this same pattern, but the 
blade is made longer, which increases their 
efficiency. 

From the tapering form of these spades, 
they cannot be used to throw out the earth 
from the narrow trench which is cut with 
them, and scoops were invented for this pur- 
pose, and for smoothing the bottom of the 
trench, and preparing a suitable bed for the 
tiles. 

In figs. 19 and 21 are 
two forms of scoop, figured 
by Stephens in his Boole of 
the Farm in 1844. The draw, 
or pull scoop, fig. 19, was in- 
tended to be used for smooth- 
ing the bottom of the ditch 

FIG. 19. Pull for flat-bottomed and horse- 

DRAiN Scoop, ghoe tiles, and it was changed 

to the form represented in fig. 20, for 

laying round pipe tiles. It will be seen 

that earth cannot readily be thrown out 

of the ditch with this form of scoop, 

and the push scoop, fig. 21, was invented 

for that purpose. These scoops are, 

however, practically worthless in the 

hands of an ordinary workman ; the pull 

scoops, unless very heavy, tremble, and 

are not readily guided; the push scoops drain scoop, for 

are heavy on the point when loaded, and ^^^nd tiles. 

roll in the hands when raised to the surface of the 

ground, and from the attachment of the shank at the 





126 



LAiq^D DRAI2^Ii^^G. 



end of the blade they are easily broken. On account 
of these, and many other defects which might be enu- 
- merated, they have not been used, to any 
extent, in draining. After a thorough trial 
of these scoops in a variety of soils, at the 
Michigan Agricultural College, several years 
ago, they were found to be useless, 
and finally consigned to the mu- 
seum of obsolete implements. As 
a scoop was evidently needed to 
supplement the draining spades in 
excavating narrow trenches, I suc- 
ceeded, after a number of experi- 
ments, in inventing a combined 
pull and push scoop, that was free 
from the defects of the old forms, 
a description and figure of which 
were published in the Eeport of the 
Michigan Board of Agriculture for 
1873. After an experience of sev- 
eral years, in all kinds of soils, this 
scoop (fig. 22) has proved to be a 
satisfactory tool, in every respect, 
for removing earth from the trench dkaining 
and preparing a bed for the tiles ; scoop. 
as it is light and well balanced, and, from the 
^'DRAm'" position of the shank in the middle of the 
Scoop, blade, it is much stronger than the old forms. 
An improved method of using this scoop will be given 
in the chapter on construction. A set of draining tools, 
copied from G-isborne's Agriculture, 1854 (fig. 23), fur- 
nishes a good illustration of forms that cannot be used 
with advantage. The scoops and the tile-layer are 
intended for use from the banks of the ditch, but they 
are awkward and heavy tools, and it is almost impossible 
to lay tiles with them on a reasonably true grade. 





DISCOVERY AND INVENTION. 



VZ7 




Fig. 23. Obsolete Draining Tools. 



128 



LAis^D DRAINING. 



In directions for ''opening the ditclies," in Brain- 
ing for Profit and for Healthy Col. Waring gives a fig- 
ure of a "finishing scoop" (fig. 24), and of a finishing 
spade, (fig. 25), which, according to 
my own experience, ara quite as defec- 
tive as the tools in the preceding figure. 
The curved sole of the scoop is not the 
best form for jointing a true 
grade, and the curved slioul- 
der and square point of the 
spade do not recommend it 
as the best tool for making a 
narrow cut for round tiles. 
Modified forms of my drain- 
ing scoop, which have been 
made and placed on the mar- 
ket, are represented in figs. 
26 and 27. They are, how- 
ever, too heavy for the in- 
tended purpose ; the sides of 
the form, fig. 26, are too high 
for convenient use in adhe- 
sive soils, and there appears 
to be no practical advantage 
in the adjustable arrange- 
ment of the blade, repre- 
sented in fig. 27, while it 
increases the weight of the 
scoop, which is a serions ob- 
jection. The shovel scoop, ^i^- 25- fin- 

T ., T . , , , ISHIKG 

described in chapter nine, spade. 
Fig. 24. FiNisHiKGfor fivc or six inch tiles, and the lighter 

and simpler form of better proportions, 
figs. 22 and 30, for smaller sizes, will be found, in every 
respect, much more convenient and satisfactory than 
these heavier implements. 




DISCOVERY AND INV ENTIOIS". 



129 



The large handles and heavy blades of the so-called 
improved draining scoops in the market are defects that 
materially diminish their value, without any compensat- 
ing advantages. A few ounces of unnecessary weight in 
a tool with a long handle, to move earth in the bottom 




Fig. 26. Draining Scoop. Fig. 27. Adjustable Draining Scoop. 



of the ditch, will be found a severe tax upon the muscu- 
lar energies of the workman in the course of the day, 
and diminish his efficiency accordingly. The weight 
must be raised on the long arm of the lever, and the 
effective force required to lift it is proportionately 
increased. 



CHAPTER VII. 
LocATi02!f AifD Plans of Faem Deaiks. 

To secure efficiency and economy in the construc- 
tion of farm drains the work should be planned, and the 
location of the drains decided upon over the entire area 
that may need draining, in accordance with a definite 
and well-matured system, in which every condition that 
may influence the results has been fully considered, and. 
provided for. When but part of the work can bB done 
in a single season, the advantages of a complete plan for 
the drainage of all lands that can discharge water at a 
common outlet, before any drains are made, musb be 
obvious, as each line of tiles laid will then form a con- 
sistent link in the general system, and the losses that 
are likely to arise from a change of plan in the progress 
of the work will be avoided. There are certain princi- 
ples to be kept in mind, in planning a system of drainage 
that it may be well to notice before discussing other 
details. 

Direction of Drains. — In the first place, all drains 
should run directly down the slope, in the line of steep- 
est descent, in order to secure the greatest efficiency in 
the discharge of water, in connection with the widest 
distance between the drains that can be made, and at 
the same time secure thorough drainage over the entire 
area to be drained. Any considerable variation from 
this rule should only be made for good and sufficient 
reasons, to secure other advantages that fully compen- 
sate for any faults that may arise in deviating from the 
most direct course. 

130 



LOCATION AND PLANS OF DRAINS. 131 

It will readily be seen that when parallel drains are 
laid directly across the slope, a drain can receive no 
water from the space immediately below it, and that it 
must receive water from the whole width of the space 
between it and the next drain above. Moreover, when 
the slope of the field is considerable, these transverse 
drains allow water to escape at the joints of the tiles 
and wet the soil of the space below them, and thus add 
to the duty of the next drain. Many instances have 
come under my observation, where water from springs 
has escaped from drains laid across the slope, and satu- 
rated land which before was comparatively free from 
drainage water, the drains only serving to transfer the 
springs from one locality to another. 

On the other hand, when drains run directly down 
the slope, they receive water from but one-half of the 
space between adjacent drains ; impervious strata that 
bring water to the surface to form springs, are cut across ; 
the water table is uniformly lowered; and the flow of 
water from one drain to another does not take place. 
The drains can then be laid at wider intervals, and the 
cost of thorough draining materially diminished. Par- 
allel drains at equal distances are desirable, but when 
the slope of the field is not uniformly in the same direc- 
tion they cannot be so made, and at the same time run 
directly down the slope in the line of the most rapid fall. 
Good judgment will then be required to secure a happy 
mean between the conflicting requirements, that will 
give the best results, but, as a general rule, the line of 
greatest descent should be the dominant factor in deter- 
mining the location of the drains. 

Main Drains. — A sufficient outlet must be secured 
for the main drain, and it should then be laid in the 
lowest ground, without any abrupt changes in fall, to 
check the flow of water passing through it, and it may 
be necessary to lay it at a greater depth from the sur- 



132 LAZSTD DRAINING. 

face in some places, to secure the desired uniformity in 
its slope or rate of fall, and, if possible, there should be 
an increase in fall towards the outlet. When the fall in 
the upper course of a drain is considerable, and but a 
slight fall can be secured in its lower cours^, a larger 
tile will be required where the fall is diminished, to 
carry the water receiyed from above, and prevent it from 
being forced out at the joints by the pressure from the 
head of water in the upper course of the drain, and thus 
undermining and displacing the tiles. 

If the valley through which the main is to be laid 
is broad and nearly level from side to side, a sub-main 
should be laid on each side of it, near the foot of the 
slope, to avoid the rapid decrease in the fall of the lat- 
eral drains, that would be made if they were continued 
to the middle of the valley, and the space between the 
sub-mains may then be drained by laterals of smaller 
tiles. When a change in the direction of a main, or sub- 
main, is necessary, it should be made gradually, or with 
a gentle curve, as abrupt angles check the current of 
water and materially diminish the capacity of the drain. 
This fact should be kept in mind in all cases, but in 
the upper course of laterals, laid with two inch tiles, 
this is not as important, as they are not as likely to 
run full. 

Depth of Drains. — It is important that the depth 
at which drains are to be laid should be decided upon 
before laying out, or determining their location in the 
field. Those who have had no experience in draining 
land are liable to fall into the error of laying the tiles 
too near the surface, from mistaken notions of economy. 
Practically Jbhe depth of retentive soils, as we have seen, 
is limited by the surface of the w^ater table, and the 
drains should, therefore, be laid at sufficient depth to 
secure a free range of root distribution throughout the 
largest mass of soil that can be made available, with 
reasonable economy in construction. 



LOCATION AND PLANS OF DRAINS. 133 

The roots of nearly all of our cultivated crops pen- 
etrate the soil, under favorable conditions, to the depth 
of, at least, four feet, and this may safely be recom- 
mended as a desirable depth for laterals, while the 
mains, if possible, should be laid at least their own 
diameter deeper. There can be no doubt that drains 
four feet in depth have a number of advantages over 
those that are shallower, that must more than compen- 
sate for a considerable increase in cost, but it does not 
follow, howeyer, that the draining of a field to the depth 
of four feet is necessarily more expensive than draining 
to the depth of three feet. 

On the ground of efficiency, it appears that when 
heavy rainfalls occur after a season of drouth, the dis- 
charge of water begins sooner and continues longer ; a 
larger mass of soil, with its supplies of nutritive mate- 
rials, is made available for growing crops by the pro- 
cesses of metabolism ; a wider range of root distribu- 
tion is secured ; and there is an increased capacity for 
holding capillary water for the purposes of vegetation in 
time of drouths. The extreme climatic conditions of 
excessive rainfall and intense drouth are, therefore, 
more completely corrected, and a greater uniformity in 
productiveness may reasonably be expected. The item 
of economy in the construction of four-foot drains will 
be considered in the next paragraph. 

Distance Between Drains. — ISTo absolute rule 
can be laid down as to the proper distance between 
drains, to secure the best results at the least expense. 
Good judgment in the application of general principles 
will be found the best guide in each particular case. 
The conditions that have an influence in determining 
the most desirable distance between drains are, the 
depth at which they are laid, the character of the soil, 
and the amount of rainfall that is likely to occur in sin- 
gle showers, or within a few days, which is of greater 
importance than the annual rainfall. 



134 LAND DRAINING. 

In order to secure the same efficiency in removing 
water from the soil, drains but three feet deep must be 
laid nearer together than when they are four feet deep, 
and the expense of draining a given area may, therefore, 
be less with the deeper drains, as the cost of digging the 
additional foot in depth of the four-foot drains will be 
compensated for by a saving in tiles, and in the number 
of ditches that are required. On the score of economy, 
as well as efficiency, the four-foot drains will undoubt- 
edly prove most satisfactory. Mr. Parkes' table 21, 
(page 114), may be profitably studied in this connection. 

The cliaracter of the soil should be carefully studied, 
and its behavior, as the drains are laid, should be closely 
observed. In the most retentive soils, when the drains 
are four feet deep, it will seldom be necessary to make 
the distance between them less than twenty-five or thirty 
feet, and in many soils, that need draining, a distance of 
fifty to sixty feet may give satisfactory results. The 
amount of rainfall should be considered, in connection 
with other conditions, as it may be of assistance, in 
some cases, in deciding upon the most desirable distance. 
The depth of drains is, however, a more important fac- 
tor in preventing injury to crops from excessive rainfall 
than the distance between them. 

Map of the System of Drainage. — In all cases it 
will be desirable to make a map of the field, or the area 
to be drained, on which the location and depth of every 
drain is accurately recorded. The general details of the 
map should be in black ink, and the proposed drains 
laid down with dotted red lines. As fast as the drains 
are finished the dotted line can readily be changed to a 
continuous red line, and a record may thus be conven- 
iently kept of the progress of the work. When the 
work is not all done in a single season, the importance 
of an accurate map of the drains already made, as a 
means of definitely locating them, in order to form junc- 



LOCATION AND PLANS OF DKAINS. 135 

tions with the drains in process of construction, will be 
obvious. When the drains are all completed it may be 
necessary to find a particular drain, in case of obstruc- 
tion, or for other reasons, and the map will then be 
found a great convenience and a saving of labor. 

Locating Drains and Making the Map. There 

are two methods of locating the drains and plotting 
them on the map, each of which has its advantages. 
An engineer, to secure accuracy and conformity to a 
definite plan in all parts of the work, would make a 
topographical survey of the area to be drained, by taking 
levels at frequent and regular intervals over the field, 
which would be represented on the map by contour 
lines, or lines of equal elevation, to indicate the shape of 
the surface. These would serve as guides in locating 
the drains so that they would run directly down the 
slope, or perpendicular to thecontour lines, and the 
depth and rate of fall would be marked on the line of 
each drain. The entire system of drainage would, there- 
fore, be first laid down on the map, and the drains in 
the field would be staked out from this record, as the 
work of construction was carried on. There are cases, 
perhaps, in which the expense involved in this method 
would be saved in economy of construction, if the engi- 
neer making the surveys was an expert in land draining. 
Farmers who lay out the drains on their own farms, 
and carry on the work of construction as labor can be 
spared for the purpose, will, hovvever, prefer a simpler 
and less expensive method, which answers quite as well, 
if a reasonable degree of intelligence or common sense is 
exercised in its ai:)plication. Instead of making a plan 
on paper to serve as a guide in the field, the drains will 
be first staked out in the field from time to time, as 
required in the progress of the work, and they can then 
be plotted on a map with sufficient accuracy to serve all 
practical purposes of a convenient and permanent record, 



136 LAND DRAIKIKG. 

without making use of any expensiye surveying or engi- 
neering instruments. 

All that is absolutely required in the field work is 
the means of accurately measuring the lines of drains, 
and their distance from certain land marks. A suryey- 
or's chain, or tape, will be found convenient, but in 
their absence a rod pole, divided in feet and inches, will 
serve the purpose of providing the data for making a 
record of the work on the map. The cheap measuring 
ta23es in common use should be discarded, as they are 
not always accurate, and if wet they are liable to stretcli 
and vary in length, and the results obtained with them 
are often misleading. 

When the surface of the field is undulating there 
will be no difficulty, in most cases, in deciding upon the 
location and course of the proposed drains by the eye 
alone, without taking levels with an instrument, but 
the precaution should always be taken when the fall is 
slight, to look over the proposed line from both ends of 
it before deciding upon its exact location, as appearances 
are sometimes deceitful if we look in one direction only. 
A farmer who is familiar with his fields, and observes 
the direction water flows over the surface in the spring, 
will seldom hesitate in regard to the direction of the 
slope and the course of lines running directly down hill. 
In cases of doubt as to the fall, on land that is nearly 
level, a simple and convenient method of determining 
the slope, or grade, of the drain, will be given in the 
chapter on construction. 

Writers on draining have, with few exceptions, 
given directions for digging and finishing the ditches 
throughout their entire length before any tiles are laid, 
and when this is done, directions are given to lay the 
first tiles at the upper end of the drain and continue the 
work towards the outlet. This method is, however, 
impracticable, if there is water running in the ditch, or 



LOCATION AKD PLANS OF DRAINS. 137 

if quicksand is found anywhere in its course, and in all 
cases better work can be done by beginning at the outlet 
to lay the tiles, and the ditch should only be finished as 
the tiles are laid. The main drain should always be laid 
first, to furnish an outlet for the discharge of water that 
may be running in the ditches in the progress of the 
work of construction. 

In laying out and mapping the drains, attention 
will, therefore, be first directed to the main, and the 
laterals, or branches, will then follow in the order of 
their importance. Haying placed stakes in the field to 
mark the line of the main drain, its place on the map 
may be determined, as follows. To facilitate the 
description of the different steps in the process, let us 
suppose a case in which the main drain crosses the north 
line of the field at, or near, the outlet. 

Set a stake marked A at the point where the drain 
crosses or intersects the north line of the field, and deter- 
mine its position by measuring on the boundary line of 
the field, in either direction, as may be most convenient, 
to the corner of the field, or to some permanent object, 
and make a record of this distance and position of the 
stake on the map, which should, of course, be drawn to 
a definite scale. Then set a stake marked B at the 
upper end of the proposed drain, or at the point where 
a change in direction will be necessary. Measure the 
distance from A to B, and to determine the exact course 
take the range of the two stakes, and ascertain where 
the line between them would, if continued, strike the 
opposite side of the field, and drive a stake marked d to 
mark the place. The position of d can now be deter- 
mined by its distance from the corner of the field, or 
some permanent object, measured on the south line of 
the field, as was done to fix the point A on the north 
line. The drain A-B can now be plotted on the map 
by marking the point A on the north boundary of the 



138 LAl^D DEAIKING. 

field, and the point h on the south boundary, and a rule 
touching the two points will giye the course and position 
of the drain. The point B is then fixed by laying off 
the proper distance from A on this line. 

If the main drain is now to be continued in a differ- 
ent direction, place a stake G at the end of the next 
course, ascertain where tlie line B-C, if continued, 
wonld intersect the boundary of the field, by taking the 
range of the two stakes, and mark the place with a stake 
c, the position of which is determined by its distance 
from Z*, or from any other known point, as in fixmg the 
position of A and h. In plotting, place the rule on the 
map touching the points B and c, and measure on the 
line indicated the proper distance from B to C. 

To locate the laterals proceed in the same way, tak- 
ing as the starting point their junction with the main 
drain. If, for example, they are branches of the drain 
A-B, fix the point of junction by measuring the distance 
from A, or, if on the line B-C, determine the distance 
of the starting point from B. The laterals are then 
plotted on the map, by measuring their length from the 
main, and fixing their course, by ascertaining the point 
at which the line, if continued, would intersect the 
boundary of the field, and proceed as before. If there 
are several parallel laterals, the course of one may be 
fixed as above, and this may be taken as a base line from 
which the others may be laid out or located. 

The whole process of locating and mapping the 
drains by this empirical method is so simple, that any 
one of average intelligence should be able to perform the 
work without any technical knowledge of surveying or 
engineering; and if the measurements are accurately 
made and the figures representing distances are entered 
on the map in their proper place, the record will be 
sufficiently accurate, even if the greatest exactness is 
not secured in drafting the lines on the map. A con- 



LOCATION AND PLANS OF DRAINS. 139 

venient scale for the map is fifty feet to the inch, but a 
scale of one hundred feet to the inch will give satisfac- 
tory results when there are but few drains to be recorded. 
As the drains are all located and staked out in the field, 
the map may consist simply of an outline of the field 
drawn to a definite scale, on which the lines of drains, 
as decided upon, may be drawn, with figures represent- 
ing all distances, and letters or numbers to indicate each 
particular drain. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Quality and Size of Tiles. 

There are a number of particulars in regard to the 
selection of tiles, that should receive careful attention, 
as the best for the purpose are the cheapest, if the drain- 
ing of land is made, as it should be, a permanent 
improvement. 

Round Tiles. — In describing the different kinds 
of tiles the conclusion was reached that round tiles 
should be exclusively used, as they have none of the 
defects of other forms, and it may be well to notice more 
particularly some" of their most important advantages. 
When but little water is running in a drain of round 
tiles, it is confined to a narrow channel, and the force of 
the current is thereby increased, so that obstructions 
from silt are not likely to occur. The ends of the tiles 
vary but little from a right angle to the axis, and close- 
fitting joints can be secured in laying them, by turning 
them in their bed, if necessary, as it is a matter of indif- 
ference which side of the cylinder is up. When laid in 
the groove prepared for them by a draining scoop of 
proper size, they are not liable to be displaced by firmly 



140 LAi^D DKAINIi^^G. 

packing the soil with which they are covered. They 
can be laid more rapidly on a true grade than any other 
form of tile, which is a matter of importance where 
there is but little fall. 

Quality of Tiles. — Tiles should be smooth and 
straight, with a uniform bore, and well burned, so that 
they give a clear ring when struck with a hammer. A 
permanent drain cannot be made with soft and porous 
tiles, as they readily yield to pressure when saturated 
with water, and when near the outlet they crumble in 
pieces, from the action of frost. On the other hand, 
tiles that have been '^^ melted," or '^ over-burned" in the 
kiln, are to be avoided, as they shrink more than well- 
burned tiles, and the bore is, therefore, contracted, and 
they are usually more or less warped, so that they can- 
not be accurately laid in the trench. If used at all, 
they should be placed at the upper end of laterals, where 
they cannot check the current from any considerable 
length of the drain above them. On the whole, it is 
better, in buying tiles, to reject the over -burned as, 
defective, as they not only impair the efficiency and 
durability of a drain by their contracted bore, but they 
add. to the expense of laying them, from the difficulty of 
matching them to form good joints, and keeping a rea- 
sonably uniform grade in their course. 

The weakest link in a chain is the measure of its 
strength, and the most defective tile in a drain is an 
index of its reliability throughout its entire course. 
Tile drains should be made on the plan of the ^^ Deacon's 
One Hoss Shay," each part being as perfect as every 
other part, with no weak place to give out. Glazed 
tiles are now made in some localities, and they are 
always to be preferred when they can be obtainei at the 
same price as the unglazed pipes. 

How Does Water Enter Tile Drains?— The 
popular notion that porous tiles are necessary to insure 



QUALITY AND SIZE OF TILES. 141 

the free access of water to a drain is founded in error, 
and it has led to serious mistakes in construction. Its 
absurdity must be seen by reversing the conditions and 
considering the prospects of successfully conveying 
water from a spring, for any distance, in pipes that have 
open joints every twelve or thirteen inches in their 
course. It would at once be said that failure would 
surely follow, as the water would leak out at the joints. 
That water must leak in through similar joints in a tile 
drain, should likewise be obvious, and serve as a ready 
explanation of the manner in which water finds its way 
into drains. A simple experiment, which 1 have made 
before my classes for several years, should be tried by 
those who have any doubts in regard to the leakage of 
the joints of tile drains. Put a plug of soft wood, or 
cork, in one end of an ordinary unglazed tile, and then 
fill it with water. If the tile is then allowed to stand 
for an hour, it will be seen that the surface of the water 
is lowered but little by the amount absorbed by the walls 
of the tile, and that this would be insignificant in its 
effects in draining land. Then place another tile on top 
of the one containing water, and turn it around, to make 
as tight a joint as possible at their junction, and again 
pour in water to fill the second tile. It will then be 
found that the water escapes from the joint between the 
two tiles quite rapidly, and that a continuous stream of 
water is required to keep the second tile full, and that 
when the supply is cut off the leakage empties it in a 
few seconds. If the attempt is made to keep water out 
of a tile drain as laid in the soil, great care must be exer- 
cised in cementing the joints to make them water tight. 
Gisborne,* on the authority of Parkes, makes the 
following statement : *^If an acre of land be intersected 
with parallel drains twelve yards apart, and if on that 
acre should fall the very unusual quantity of one inch 

*Essays on Agriculture, p. 108. 



142 LAND DRATNIl^G, 

of rain in twelye hours, in order that every drop of this 
rain may be discharged by the drains in forty-eight 
hours from the commeo cement of the rain (and in a less 
period that quantity neither will, nor is it desirable that 
it should, filter through agricultural soil), the interval 
between two pipes will be called upon to pass two-thii ds 
of a tablespoonful of water per minute, and no more. 
Inch pipes, lying at a small inclination, and running 
only half-full, will disjoharge more than double this 
quantity of water in forty-eight hours. The mains, or 
receiving drains, are, of course, laid with larger pipes." 
Having arrived at the conclusion that water enters 
drains at the joints between the tiles, and that what 
soaks through the walls of the most porous tiles is not 
worth considering, we may turn our attention to other 
points of practical interest relating to the behavior of 
drainage water in the soil. 

How Does the Rainfall Reach the Tiles?— Let 
us trace the course of the rain falling on the soil until 
it reaches the tiles, in a field that has drains four feet 
deep, at regular intervals of forty feet. The water 
would at once be absorbed by the soil of a well drained 
field, and percolate directly downward by gravitation to 
the water table, which we will suppose, at the beginning 
of the shower, is just below the bottom of the drains. 
Over the entire field the water must then filter through 
more than four feet of soil before it reaches the water 
table, which will then gradually rise until it is above the 
bottom of the drain. The water will leak into the drain 
at the lower part of the joints between the tiles, and be 
discharged towards the outlet. In the case of moderate 
rains, that reach the water table, it must be evident that 
but a slight rise of the water table will take place when 
the drains begin to run, as the discharge and the supply 
will soon be equal, and it must likewise be seen that 
the water enters the drain from below, and it is only 



QUALITY AND SIZE OF TILES. 143 

when the rain is sufficient to raise the water table to the 
top of the tiles that water can leak in on all sides of the 
joints of the tiles. 

From the failure to recognize these facts the mis- 
take has often been made of filling the ditch immedi- 
ately above the tiles with permeable materials, as small 
stones, or gravel, to facilitate the percolation of water to 
the top of the drain, as shown in figs. 4, 12, 14 and 15. 
This does more harm than good, to say nothing of the 
unnecessary expense, as silt is liable to be washed into 
the drain at any defective joint, by water entering freely 
at the top of the tiles, and care should be taken to pack 
the earth firmly above the tiles, so that water may be 
forced to continue its downward course through the soil 
to the water table, before entering the drain. 

When the discharge from the drains equals the sup- 
ply of water from above, the water table does not rise 
any higher, and this marks the maximum flow of water 
through the drains ; and when the rain ceases the water 
table soon begins to fall, and the flow from the drains* 
diminishes. Moreover, as soon as the drains begin to 
run there must be a movement of the drainage water in 
the soil towards the drain, to replace that discharged 
through the tiles, and this lateral movement gradually 
extends to the distance of twenty feet on each side of 
the drain, in the case supposed above, or one-half the 
distance to the adjoining drains. The rain, falling 
directly over the drain, reaches the water table and leaks 
into the tiles, with but slight lateral percolation through 
the soil ; while that falling half way between the drains 
unakes a vertical descent of four feet to the water table, 
and is then carried, by the lateral movement of the 
drainage water, to the drain, having percolated through 
the soil a total distance of twenty-four feet. From the 
extent of this filtration of the rain through the soil, 
some time must elapse before the water, falling on the 



144 LAND DEAINING. 

surface of the soil, can begin to escape by the drain, and, 
after the rain has ceased, the drains must continue to 
run until the water table subsides to the level of the 
bottom of the bore of the tiles, which must take place 
gradually, from the lateral distance a large proportion 
of the water must percolate through the porous soil 
before reaching the drain. 

There is another factor that has an influence on the 
time required by the rain-water to reach the drain, that 
must not be overlooked. The capillary capacity of the 
soil must be satisfied before any of the rainfall assumes 
the form of drainage water. Soils have, as has already 
been pointed out, a certain capacity for retaining or 
holding capillary water, and, in the intervals between 
rains, in the growing season, this store of water is drawn 
upon by exhalation from plants, and surface evaporation 
from the soil. When rain falls it is, in the first place, 
appropriated by the soil to replenish its stock, or normal 
reserve, of capillary water, and it is only the rain in 
^excess of this demand that appears as drainage water. 
In the wheat experiments at Rothamsted, it was stated 
that the drains of the barnyard manure plot, on the aver- 
age, run but once in the year, and quite heavy rains in 
the growing season, under ordinary conditions, fre- 
quently fail to bring about a discharge from the drains. 

Direct observations have repeatedly shown that the 
mass of drained soil above the tiles has a marked influ- 
ence, in retarding the flow of drainage water and in 
diminishing its volume. After a rainfall of nearly half 
an inch in twelve hours, Mr. Parkes found that the dis- 
charge of drainage water, by Mr. Dickinson's Dalton% 
gauge, and by Mr. Hammond's inch pipes, laid three 
and four feet deep in a field, continued forty-eight hours 
after the commencement of the rain. 

With heavy rainfalls on retentive soils, a consider- 
ably longer time is required for the discharge of the 



QUALITY AND SIZE OF TILES. 145 

drainage water. In Central Park, New York, soon after 
the drainage of '*tlie Green" was completed, comprising 
an area of about ten acres of wet land, Ool. George E. 
Waring, the engineer in charge, made frequent estimates 
of the volume of water discharged by the main drain, 
from July 13th to Dec. 30th, to ascertain the relations 
of drainage to rainfall. The results of these observations 
for the first month (July 13th to Ang. 14th), given in 
the following table, will sufficiently illustrate the grad- 
ual discharge of the drainage water, without copying 
the record in full.* 

It will be seen that three remarkable rains occurred 
in the course of the month recorded in the table, viz. : 
July 12th and 16th, and Aug. 5th, and that the total fall 
of rain for the entire period was 171,052 gallons per 
acre (7.57 inches), of which but 45,252 gallons per acre 
(2.00 inches), or 26.46 per cent, was discharged by the 
drains. A large proportion of the first rainfall of 2*20 
inches (July 12th) must have been retained by the soil, 
as the maximum recorded discharge from the drain 
(July 14th) was at the rate of only 9.95 per cent, of the 
rainfall in twenty-four hours, or about one-fifth of an 
inch, and the discharge the next two days was at the 
rate of less than three per cent, of the rainfall in twenty- 
four hours. The total discharge from the drains in 
three days was less than fifteen per cent, of the rainfall, 
and the soil at the depth of two feet was still saturated 
with (capillary) water. The second heavy fall of rain 
occurred July 16th, followed by a decided increase in 
drainage, but even then the rate of maximum discharge 
was only at the rate of 23.25 per cent, of the rainfall, or 
a little over one-third of an inch in twenty-four hours. 
The drainage then rapidly diminished, but the effects of 
these two rains of over three and one-half inches was evi- 
dent until the 3d of August, or more than two weeks. 

♦Draining for Profit and Health, p. 87. 
10 



146 



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H 



QUALITY AND SIZE OF TILES. 



147 



The slight rains of July 23d and Aug. 3d had 
little, if auy, influence on the drainage, and there was 
but a slight increase from the rain of over half an inch 
on tiie 4th of August. We find, likewise, that the 
greatest discharge from the drains did not follow the 
heaviest rainfall, and that the smallest of the three 
heavy rains gave the largest percentage of drainage. 
This is best shown in the tabular form as follows : 

TABLE 23. 



Bate. 


Rainfall iu inches. 


Maximum dis- 
charge by drains in 
24 hours in gallons 
per acre. 


Tercent. of rainfaU 
in maximum drain- 
age in 24 hours. 


July 13th 
Aug. 51,li 
July 16tk 


2.20 
2.00 
1.48 


4,968 
8,280 
7,764 


9.95 
18.28 
23.25 



The maximum rate of discharge of water by the 
drains, after a rainfall of 2.20 inches, is but sixty per 
cent, of the discharge after a rainfall of two inches, and 
less than sixty-four per cent, of that following a rainfall 
of but 1.48 inches, and the drainage is not, therefore, 
determined solely by the amount of rainfall. 

The tables of drainage and evaporation, in chapter 
three, may be profitably consulted in this connection. 
The relations of drainage and evaporation to rainfall 
show that it is not necessary to provide drains to carry 
off all of the heaviest rainfalls. The stores of capillary 
water in the soil are materially diminished by evapora- 
tion from the surface soil, and exhalation by plants, in 
the growing season, and quite copious rains may be 
required to replace what has thus been disposed of. 

It is, howeyer, evident that the influence of soils in 
retarding the discharge of drainage water, must vary 
with their capacity to absorb and retain water, in con- 
nection with their previous condition of dryness, and 
the observations made at Central Park, and in other 
drainage experiments, must be interpreted as represent- 
ing a conformity to the general law that determines the 



148 LAND DRAINING. 

percolation of water through soils, under the special 
conditions presented in each case. The known facts in 
regard to the comparatively small proportion of the ayer- 
age rainfall that is discharged as drainage water from 
well drained retentive soils, on which a crop is growing, 
and the time required for it to reach the drains, must 
then be recognized, as imj)ortant factors for considera- 
tion, in deciding u23on the capacity of drains that are 
needed to secure thorough drainage. 

Size of Tiles — As the prices of tiles increase rap- 
idly with their size, and their cost forms an important 
cash item in the expense of draining, it will be desirable 
to use the smallest sizes that will serve the purpose of 
promptly discharging the drainage water that may reach 
them after heavy rains, under ordinary conditions. 

The tables, in v/orks on draining, giving the capac- 
ity of pipes at different inchnations, for discharging 
water, are of no practical value as aids in determining" 
the size of tiles required to carry off the surplus water of 
a given rainfall, as they do not take into account the 
different ways soil water is disposed of, or the many con- 
ditions that prevent its rapid percolation through a 
drained soil on its course to the drains. Tha principles 
of hydraulics are applied in estimating the required 
capacity of sewers for removing a given amount of water, 
which they receive directly through the open mouths of 
their branches, but they do not have the same signifi- 
cance in land drainage, from the indefinite and con- 
stantly varying factors intervening between the fall of 
rain upon the surface of the soil, and the access of drain- 
age water to the tiles ; so that it is impossible to formu- 
late the direct relations of drainage to any given rainfall. 

Most of the empirical rules that have been given 
for estimating the required capacity of tiles for draining 
a given area, will lead to the selection of sizes consider- 
ably larger than are actually needed, and thus unneces- 



QUALITY AND SIZE OF TILES. 149 

Stirily increase the expense. For example, Gisborne* 
lays down the rule ^'thjit a three-inch pipe will discharge 
the water of nine acres, four of sixteen, and so on ; the 
quantity of acres being equal to the product of the diam- 
eter of the pipe in inches multiplied into itself." War- 
ing makes the following estimate, which is, undoubtedly, 
a safe one, under average conditions. ^^In view of all 
the information that can be gathered on the subject, the 
following directions are given as perfectly reliable for 
drains four feet, or more, in depth, laid on a well regu- 
lated fall of even three inches in a hundred feet : 

For 2 acres 1^ inch pipes. 

For 8 acres 2^ inch pipes. 

For 20 acres 3|- inch pipes. 

For 40 acres two 3^ inch pipes. 

For 50 acres 6 inch pipes. 

For 100 acres 8 inch pipes. 
"It is not pretended that these drains will immedi- 
ately remove all the water of the heaviest storms, but 
they will always remove it fast enough for all practical 
purposes, and, if the pipes are securely laid, the drains 
will only be benefited by the occasional cleaning they 
will receive when running ^more than full.'" f 

The size of the main should be determined Avith 
reference to the area to be drained, without taking into 
consideration the combined capacity of the laterals con- 
nected with it. In a well-planned system of drainage 
the combined capacity of the laterals will almost always 
considerably exceed the capacity of the main required 
for a given area. So far as their capacity to discharge 
water is concerned, one-inch pipes are sufficient for lat- 
erals under average conditions, and they have been exten- 
sively used in Great Britain, where they seldom run 
more than half full after heavy rains. From their small 

* Essays on Agriculture, p. 109. 

t Draining for Profit and Healtli, p. »8. 



150 LAKD DEAIl^ING. 

section, however, they are liable to displacement, and 
any slight irregularities in the fall on which they are 
laid will check the flow of water through them and 
interfere with their efficiency, and for this reason later- 
als of one and one-half to two inches are, on the whole, 
to be preferred. In many localities two-inch tiles are 
uniformly used for laterals, as they are the smallest size 
made in the yicinity. When the fall is over six inches in 
one hundred feet, with a uniformly hard bottom, a slight 
saving might be made by using one and one-half inch 
laterals, but with a less fall, or when the bottom of the 
ditch is not firm, two-inch laterals have advantages, 
which, in my opinion, more than compensate for the 
difference in cost. In peaty soils, that are liable to set- 
tle, more or less, and thus interfere with the alignment 
of the tiles, three-inch laterals may be used with econ- 
omy, but, on upland soils, where the tiles, when properly 
laid, ai'e not likely to be displaced, they have no advan- 
tages over two-inch laterals under any conditions, or 
even over one and one-half inch tiles that have a fall 
exceeding five or six inches in one hundred feet. 

An illustration of the capacity and efficiency of 
drains in actual practice may be of interest in this con- 
nection. Mr. A. F. Wood, of Mason, Michigan, has 
tile drains of four, five and six inches in diameter on his 
farm, which, in an experience of several years, have 
proved satisfactory as mains for the drainage of larger 
areas than the same sizes have been credited with in the 
above estimates. The first six-inch main was laid to 
take the place of a large open ditch that had failed as an 
outlet for the drainage of about one hundred and twenty- 
five acres. At the upper end of this main a well, or silt 
basin, was made, opening above the surface, so that the 
working of the drains could be readily observed. Sub- 
mains of three, four and five inches in diameter were 
laid in different directions from this well, and their 



QUALITY AND SIZE OF TILES. 151 

combined capacity, therefore, considerably exceeded that 
of the six-inch main, the ratio being about fifty to 
thirty-six. 

The five-inch sub-main, sixty rods long, has branches 
of three and four inch tiles, connecting with about two 
miles of two-inch laterals, draining fifty acres. The 
four-inch sub-main receives the drainage from about 
twenty acres, on which there is more than three-fourths 
of a mile of two-inch laterals. On the whole, the six- 
inch main receives the drainage from more than three 
miles in length of lateral drains. Another six-inch 
main, seventy rods long, receives the discharge from 
forty rods of five-inch, and one hundred and forty rods 
of four-inch branches, with two-inch laterals to make up 
an aggregate of five miles of drains on an area of seventy- 
five acres. The fall of the several drains is approxi- 
mately as follows : The first six- inch main seven inches 
in one hundred feet; the five-inch sub-main six inches 
in one hundred feet, and its laterals an average of two 
inchea in one hundred feet ; the second six-inch main 
four inches, and its laterals from one to one and one-half 
inches in one hnndred feet. From observations at the 
well at the upper end of the first six-inch main, it 
appears that it runs full after heavy rains in wet seasons, 
or taken all together for three or four days in the course 
of the year, but it has never failed to remove the drain- 
age water, so that the land could be worked within a 
few hours after the heaviest rains. In some years it has 
not been known to run full, although closely watched. 
On the whole, Mr. Wood informs me that the drainage 
of his farm has proved satisfactory in every respect, and 
he has do doubt as to the sufficient capacity of the 
main drains. 

The nearest point at which a record of the rainfall 
has been kept since the drains were laid, is the Michigan 
Agricultural college, ten miles north in a direct line. 



152 LAND DRAINING. 

At that place the annual rainfall has varied from 23.78 
to 48.36 inches, with an average of 34.15 inches for the 
ten years preceding 1890. From four to fifteen rains of 
one inch, or oyer, in twenty-four hours, have occurred 
in a year, or an annual average of nine for the entire 
period. Of these heavy rainfalls, in the course of ten 
years, there were thirty-five of one and one-half inches, 
or over ; thirteen of two inches, or over ; five of two and 
one-half inches, or over ; one of three inches, and one of 
three and one-half inches. 

Collars. — We have already expressed the opinion 
that collars for tiles are not necessary, but it may be 
well to examine in detail the claims that have been made 
for their use. They have been recommended for the 
smaller sizes of tiles to prevent any danger of displace- 
ment, and it has even been claimed that small round 
tiles should not be laid without them. An extended 
experience has, however, proved to my satisfaction that 
collars should never be used, as, from their first cost 
(about two-thirds as much as tiles), and the additional 
labor required in laying tiles with them, the expense of 
draining is materially increased, without any compensat- 
ing advantages. The theoretical advantages of collars 
must be limited to holding the end of the tiles, to pre- 
vent displacement in the process of laying, in order to 
secure uniformity and continuity in the bore of the 
drain, but, to secure this desirable accuracy in alignment, 
the collars must fit the tiles closely, as they seldom do ; 
and it must be seen that when the tiles are once covered 
and bedded in the earth, there is no further danger of 
displacement. In the finished drain collars can serve 
no useful purpose, as the assumption that they add to 
the security of the joints and prevent the entrance of 
silt may, with good reason, be questioned. Practically, 
the collars simply serve to conceal the defects arising 
from careless methods of construction, and with suitable 



QUALITY AND SIZE OF TILES. 153 

tools, 111 the hands of an intelligent workman, a better 
drain can be made without them. 

Of the many objections which might be urged 
against the use of collars, we will only notice the most 
obvious. In burning tiles and collars, the heat to which 
they are subjected is not the same, at different times, or 
even in different parts of the kiln, and there is, conse- 
quently, marked differences in shrinkage, so that uni- 
formity in size cannot be obtained. From this fact it is 
difficult to select collars to fit the tiles as they are laid, 
which seriously retards the progress of the work. In 
the next place, there is no certainty that close joints 
between the ends of the tiles are made, as they are con- 
cealed by the collars, and when an open joint is made 
under a loose-fitting collar, silt readily finds its way into 
the drain, and may cause an obstruction. 

Sometimes the tiles are laid without touching the 
bottom of the ditch, their ends being supported by the 
collars, and, when the drain is finished, there is a space 
under the tiles to be filled by the subsequent washing in 
of the earth. In such cases the tiles are liable to be 
broken by the pressure of the soil above them, or by 
carelessness in packing the earth with which they are 
covered. If, to avoid accidents of this kind, an excava- 
tion is made to receive the collar, and allow the tiles to 
rest on the bottom of the ditch, the expense of laying 
the tiles is considerably increased. Moreover, inch, or 
inch and one quarter tiles, with collars, will cost more 
than inch and one-half, or two-inch tiles without collars, 
so that, on the whole, the smallest sizes, with collars, 
cannot be recommended on the score of economy. 

Summary. — The leading facts which have a bear- 
ing upon the question of the size of tiles required for 
thorough draining may be briefly stated, as follows : In 
the first place, it must be admitted that the flow of 
water in tile drains depends upon the level of the water 



154 LAKD DRAIlSriNG. 

table, and that water enters drains at the joints of the 
tiles. In the growing season the exhalation of water by 
plants, and evaporation from the surface soil, are carried 
on at the expense of the capillary water of the soil, with 
the result that in dry seasons the water table is, to a 
greater or less extent, below the level of the drains. 

The rain falling upon the surface of the soil, after 
an interval of drouth, is, in the first place, disposed of 
as capillary water, to supply the existing deficiency in 
the soil, and, in the next place, that which is not needed 
for that purpose percolates down to the water table, 
which gradually rises until it reaches the drains, and a 
flow of drainage water through the tiles then follows. 
A lateral movement of the standing water in the soil, 
between the drains, now sets in to supply the loss by 
drainage through tlje tiles. 

In effect, then, the drained soil not only serves as a 
storage reservoir for the rainfall, but it retards its 
descent to the drains, so that the maximum discharge 
from the tiles takes place some time after the rain has 
fallen, and it soon diminishes to a moderate flow, that 
continues several days. The amount of water soils may 
absorb is very much in excess of any probable rainfall. 
The water held by the drained wheat soil, in January 
more than in July (table 16, p. 84), would represent 
seven or eight inches of rainfall ; and the diflerence in 
the water contained in the fallow and barley land (table 
18, p. 87), was equivalent to from seven to nine inches 
of rainfall. It was shown, in other experiments, that 
but a small proportion of the rainfall, in the summer 
months, was disposed of as drainage water, even in wet 
seasons ; and that in the winter half of the year the 
drainage from a bare soil was, in no case, equal to the 
rainfall, and from a soil on which crops were growing it 
was very much less. The significance of these facts will 
best be seen by bringing together some of the results 
obtained in the preceding tables. 



QUALITY AND SIZE OF TILES. 



155 



Of the extraordinary summer rainfall, of 25.75 
inches, at Rothamsted, less than one-half appeared as 
drainage, while in all of the other observations the sum- 
mer drainage was not only very small, but it was less 
from a soil where grass was growing than from a bare 
soil. The winter drainage varied from less than one- 

TABLE 24. 
Relations of Dkainage to Rainfall, 



Drain Gauges. 


Summer J year 
April-SejJt. 


Winter ^ year. 
Oct.-March. 


Total for the year. 


Rainfall 


Drain 'ge 


Rainfall 


Drain'ge 


Rainfall 


Drain'ge 




inches. 


inches. 


inches. 


inches. 


inches. 


inches. 


Mr.Dickins'iis 














Av. 8 yrs, sod, 


12.88 


0.90 


13.74 


10.39 


26.61 


11.29 


Wettest sea- 














son, sod. 


17.41 


2.60 


13.87 


12.31 


31.28 


14.19 


Mr. Greaves', 














Av. 14 yrs, sod, 


12.14 


0.73 


13.58 


6.85 


25.72 


7.58 


Rotliamsted, 












Av.lSyrs bare 














soil. 


15.21 


4.04 


15.24 


10.35 


30.45 


14.39 


Wettest sum'r 


25.75 


12.27 


16.96 


13.59 


42.72 


25.86 


Geneva, N. Y, 














Av. 5 yrs, sod. 


15.85 


1.17 


7.87 


2.29 


23.72 


3.46 


AVettest sum- 














mer, sod, 


18.55 


3.84 


9.32 


3.72 


27.87 


7.56 


Wettest sum'r 














bare soil. 


18.55 


4.71 


9.32 


5.16 


27.87 


9.87 



half to rather more than three-fourths of the rainfall, 
with the single exception observed by Mr. Dickinson, in 
which the heavy summer rainfall of the wettest season 
increased the winter, as well as the summer, drainage. 

It was only claimed for the Central Park observa- 
tions, that they approximately represented the relations 
of drainage to rainfall, but they are consistent with the 
more accurate records obtained with drain-gauges, and 
they may, therefore, be accepted as representing a con- 
formity to the general law. During the summer in 
which the drainage was observed, once or twice a day 
after every rain, the maximum discharge of water from 
the drains followed a rainfall of less than one-third of 
an inch, and it was at the rate of 0.44 of an inch of rain- 
fall in twenty-four hours, at 9 a. m., August 25fch; at 



156 LAKD DRAIiTIKG. 

7 P. M. it had fallen to 0.39 of an inch ; at 6.30 A. M., 
Aug. 26th, it was only 0.18 of an inch ; and at 6 p. m. 
it was but 0.10 of an inch. The average of six observa- 
tions of the drainage, in the three days following the 
maximum discharge, was at the rate of only one-fifth of 
an inch of rainfall in twenty-four hours, but this was 
only eleven days after the close of the month recorded 
above, in which nearly twice the average amount had 
fallen, including three rains of from 1.48 to 2.20 inches. 
The drainage, in this case, must have been influenced 
by the heavy rains of the preceding montli. Eainfalls 
of two and one-half inches, or over, must be looked 
upon as extraordinary, and they so rarely occur in the 
Northern United States, that they need not be consid- 
ered in estimating the required capacity of drains to 
secure thorough drainage. From the increased cost of 
tiles, and the labor required in laying them, it will not 
pay to provide for the discharge in a few hours of the 
surplus drainage of extraordinary rains that seldom occur. 
They are best provided for by deep draining, to increase 
the storage capacity of the soil, and prevent a rapid 
transfer of water from the surface to the drains, by the 
larger mass of soil through which it must percolate, and 
if the tiles are well laid, with close-fitting joints, on a 
uniform grade, the drains will not be injured by running 
full for several days under the increased pressure to 
which they are subjected. 

On the other hand, from the evidence already pre- 
sented, in regard to the behavior of soil water, the indi- 
cations are that the surplus water of extraordinary rains 
cannot be disposed of in a few hours, under the most 
favorable conditions for its discharge by large drains, 
as time must be allowed for its percolation downwards 
to the water table, and for its more or less extended lat- 
eral movement through the soil between the drains, 
before it can escape through the tiles. 



CHAPTER IX. 
How TO Make Tile Drains. 

To make an efficient and permanent drain, round 
tiles must be laid with close-fitting joints, on a uniform 
slope, without any yertical undulations to obstruct or 
check the flow of v/ater through them, and, what is 
quite as important, they must be covered with earth, 
and the ditch filled, without displacing the tiles or 
interfering with their alignment. Every detail of the 
work should be carried out with unwavering attention 
to these fundamental requirements, which should be 
secured with the strictest economy in the expenditure of 
labor. In order to accomplish the desired end the work 
must be carried on in accordance with a definite, well- 
matured plan, and the implements best adapted to the 
purpose must be provided, before any tiles are laid. 

Skilled labor, or, at least, skillful and intelligent 
supervision, is required, to make a tile drain that will 
prove satisfactory in every way, and keep its cost within 
reasonable limits. It has been estimated, by those who 
have given the subject attention, that at least three- 
fourths of the tile drains which have been made, have 
failed, to a greater or less extent, to give satisfactory 
results from errors in construction. To one who is 
familiar with the ordinary methods of draining, it is not 
surprising that the partial, or total, failures in tile drain- 
ing are so numerous, as the work is frequently under- 
taken by those who have no definite knowledge of cor- 
rect principles; and preconceived notions, or fallacious 
reasoning upon the facts presented, have often led to 

157 



158 LAND DRAININ^G. 

easily avoidable faults in construction, and consequent 
disappointment in the results. Many of the mistakes 
made in draining may, however, he attributed to a reli- 
ance on authorities that are hastily consulted, as the 
errors of the early writers have, in too many instances, 
been copied, and even found their way into standard 
works on draining, without due consideration of their 
real import and impracticability. 

After an extended and unsatisfactory experience in 
attempting to follow the directions for laying tiles found 
in books on draining, I was compelled to abandon them, 
and devise new methods to simplify the work of con- 
struction and secure a reasonable degree of accuracy in 
the finished drain. In the first place, it was found nec- 
essary, and it proved to be a fortunate innovation on 
accepted methods, to begin laying tiles at the outlet and 
work towards the upper end of the drains, instead of 
keeping long lines of ditch open, and trying to overcome 
the almost insuperable difficulties involved in following 
the directions uniformly given by writers on draining. 
With this change of base, many of the most serious 
obstacles which had before been encountered, entirely 
disappeared. In the next place, it was evident that the 
old methods of determining, or fixing, the grade of the 
drain, by means of '^^ boning rods," '^ A levels," and sim- 
ilar devices, were not only inconvenient, but fallacious 
and unreliable, under average conditions, and attention 
was directed to an improvement of the methods for 
establishing the grade of the bed for the tiles. 

Grade Fixed by a Line. — Judge French* had 
recommended a line, as ^^the most accurate and satis- 
factory method of bringing drains to a regular grade," 
but his method of adjusting and fixing the line above 
the ditch proved insufiicient and unreliable, as it could 
not be readily fixed in the proper position, and was liable 

*Farm Drainage, p. 233. 




HOW TO MAKE TILE DKAINS. 159 



to displacement in the progress of the work. After 
numerous experiments, the method of adjusting the line, 
described below, was finally adopted, as the best 
and most convenient, and a description of it, 
with ilhistrations, was published in the annual 
report of the Michigan State Board of Agricul- 
ture for 1873, with the improved form of drain- 
ing scoop already noticed (fig. 22, p. 126 ; and 
tig. 30, p. 160). Since that time the practical 
value of these improvements in tile-laying has 
been demonstrated in extensive draining opera- 
tions, in economizing labor, and in the accuracy 
and permanent character of the results obtained. 
The directions for laying tiles, which follow, are 
the results of practical expe- 
rience in the field, and the 
several steps in the process will 
be given in sufficient detail to 
answer all questions that are 
likely to arise in ordinary farm 
practice. 

Tools Required. — Be- 
sides the simple appliances for 
adjusting the line, w^hich will 
soon be noticed, and ordinary 
spades and shovels, a few 
oSFoKM^^i^a^^ing tools'' should be 
OF PUSH provided before beginning 
SCOOP, (jraining operations of any ex- 
tent. The tools that must be consid- 
ered indispensable are three sizes of the 
draining scoop (figs. 22 and 30), for 
two, three and four-inch tiles, and two j^^j^ 29. old form 
or three draining spades, with blades of full scoop. 
sixteen inches long, and from four to six inches wide at 
the point. 





160 LAKD DRAIN^ING. 

The cost of these tools need not exceed six or seven 
dollars, and this will be saved, in economizing labor, in 
making but a few rods of drain, and, moreoyer, it will 
be exceedingly difficult to lay tiles, as they should be 
laid, without them. The draining spades can be obtained 
through any hardware dealer, who will order them, if 
not kept in stock. As the draining scoops 
may not be found in the market, a descrip- 
tion will be given that will enable any 
intelligent blacksmith to make them. 
The blades, about twelve or thirteen inches 
in length, may be made of thin sheet steel, 
like a hand-saw blade, or the well-worn 
blade of an old shovel, the shank being 
secured in the middle by two rivets, with 
the heads countersunk on the under side, 
to make a smooth surface. The blades 
should be curved, to fit the outside of the 
tiles, for which they are intended to form 
the groove, or bed, in the bottom of the 
ditch. The width of the blades should 
be a little more than one-third, and rather 
less than one-half the outside circumfer- 
ence of the tile. The handles may be 
from four and one-half to six feet long, 
and about the size of the lower part of a ^m. 30. miles' 
common rake stale, or a small hoe handle ; dkaining scoop. 
and the aim should be to make a light, handy tool, as 
great strength is not required in jointing the groove to 
receive the tile, or in throwing out loose earth from the 
bottom of the ditch. The draining scoops in the mar- 
ket, of the old form (figs. 28 and 29), may be altered to 
the improved form (fig. 30), by changing the position 
of the shank, but, as a rule, it will be better to use only 
the blade, and make a new and lighter shank and han- 
dle. Useful scoops for heavier work may be made by 



HOW TO MAKE TILE DRAINS. 161 

cutting off the sides of an ordinary long-handled pointed 
shovel, so that the blade is about six and one-half or 
seven inches wide, and then curving it to fit the out- 
side of a five or a six-inch tile. These can be used 
for clearing the earth from the ditch when it is too 
narrow for the ordinary shovel or spade, and to form the 
bed for five and six inch tiles, according to the curve 
of the blade. For convenience, this will be called the 
shovel scoop. 

Ditches for Tile Drains — As the cost of ditches 
depends, to a great extent, upon the amount of earth 
moved in digging them, their width should not exceed 
what is required to give sufficient room for performing 
the work of excavation and laying the tiles. With suit- 
able tools, in the hands of an experienced workman, a 
ditch sixteen inches wide at the top, and tapering to 
four inches at the bottom, may be dug to the depth 
of four feet, with but little inconvenience, and that 
has its compensations in the comparatively small amount 
of earth moved in accomplishing the result. At the 
depth of from two to two and one-half feet, such a ditch 
would be ten or twelve inches wide, and, thus far, ordi- 
nary spades, or shovels, assisted by the pick, if necessary, 
will be the most convenient tools to use. This leaves 
ample room for the workmen, in making the remaining 
excavation. A sharp draining spade, with its rounded 
point, may now be used to advantage. From its taper- 
ing form, and the gradually diminishing width of the 
ditch, the earth chipped, or sliced off, with it, must be 
thrown out with a shovel scoop. The last spading of 
from six to ten inches should not be disturbed until 
ready to lay the tiles. A ditch from four to five inches 
wide at the bottom will serve for two-inch tiles, and a 
width of nine inches is sufficient for six-inch tiles, pro- 
vided a straight trench has been made. Workmen, by 
the day, may prefer more commodious quarters to work 
11 



162 LAND DRAINIiN^G. 

in, but when paid by the rod the discomforts of a narrow 
ditch soon cease to be a matter of complaint. 

In order to lay tiles successfully in a narrow ditch, 
it must be straight, as any lateral curves will prevent 
the making of tight joints between the ends of the tiles 
as they are laid. This should be kept in mind through- 
out the entire process of excavation. A line drawn 
upon the surface should be the guide, in beginning the 
ditch, as a curve made on the start cannot easily be cor- 
rected as the excavation proceeds. 

The use of the plow near the surface, and the sub- 
soil plow to loosen the earth at greater depths, have fre- 
quently been recommended as labor-saving operations in 
digging ditches. If straight and narrow ditches are 
desirable, to economize the amount of earth to be moved, 
it is doubtful whether any saving in labor can be made 
by the use of the plow, on ditches for tiles from two to 
six inches in diameter. For the ditches required for 
larger tiles, it is possible that the plow, under judicious 
management, may be used with economy, but my expe- 
rience leads me to doubt it. It should be remarked that 
the earth should always be thrown out on one side of 
the ditch, leaving the other side clear, for the distribu- 
tion of tiles, and convenient access to the work for 
various purposes. 

Adjustment of the Line. — In order to lay tiles 
on a uniform slope, which is especially necessary when 
there is but little fall, the grade, as we have seen, can 
be most readily established by measuring from a line, 
drawn over the middle of the ditch, at a convenient dis- 
tance above the proposed bed of the tiles. To fix this 
line in its proper position, ^^ shears" are used, consisting 
of two pieces of light wood, one inch thick and about 
three inches wide, and five to seven feet long, joined 
together near one end by a small carriage bolt, as repre- 
sented in fig. 31. The lower end of the arms should be 



HOW TO MAKE TILE DIlAINS. 1C3 

square, to prevent settling in the earth when in position. 
In describing the method of adjustment and the use of 
the line, we will suppose that, beginning at the outlet, 
several rods of ditch have been dug to within six to ten 
inches of the bottom. Two of the shears are then placed 
astride the ditch, from four to six, or more, rods apart, 
one of them being over the point where the first tile is 

to be laid, and adjusted in 
height, by spreading, or con- 
tracting, the arms, so that they 
will hold the line seven feet 
above the proposed grade. 

A small but strong line, 
like a mason's, or a fine fishing 
line, is now stretched between 
the two shears, resting in the 
fork, and making one turn 
around a short arm cf each to 
prevent slipping, and when 

drawn tight it is fastened at 
FIG. 31. SHEAKs. ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^ pg^^ ^-,^,.^g^ -^ 

the ground about five feet beyond the foot of the shears, 
and near the line of the ditch. The distance of the pegs 
to which the line is attached, from the foot of the shears, 
is a matter of importance, for the reason that, if they are 
nearer the foot of the shears than the height of the line 
above the ground, the strain on the line between tlie top 
of the shears and the peg will be greater than between 
the two shears, and the line is liable to be broken 
between the shears and the pegs, when subjected to the 
necessary tension to keep -it straight. The smaller the 
line the better, provided it has the necessary strength, 
as the tendency to sag between the shears increases with 
the size of the line. As all lines will sag more or less, 
if the shears are several rods apart, it was found neces- 
sary to provide some simple and convenient means of 




164 



LAl^D DRAIKING. 



support to correct this defect. The most satisfactory 
device for this purpose is the ^^ gauge stake/' represented 
in fig. 32. 

The vertical rod of hard wood, about one and one- 
fourth iuches in diameter, and five feet, or more, in 
length (a long fork handle will answer), 
should have a sharp iron point, which is 
readily made from a piece of gas pipe, and 
an iron band around the upper end to pre- 
vent splitting, when it is driven into the 
ground. The horizontal arm, about two 
feet long, and two by two and one-half 
inches at the end through which the ver- 
tical rod passes, is tapered to three-fourths 
of an inch at the other end, to diminish 
its weight. A rivet, not shown in the cut, 
shonld be put through the base of this 
arm, back of the key which clamps it to 
the vertical rod. When the line is in 
place over the middle of the ditch, the 
rod of the gauge stake is driven near the 
margin of the ditch, and the horizontal arm is slid up 
under the line, until the sag is corrected, when it is 
secured in place with the key which clamps it to the 
rod. Two or three of these gauge stakes may be con- 
veniently used, so that the shears can be placed farther 
apart. The relations of the line to the shears and pegs, 
and the use of the gauge-stakes, will readily be seen in 
fig. 33. The sole object in view is to fix the line above 
the grade of the drain, so that it is not likely to be dis- 
placed in laying the tiles, by means that will facilitate 
its removal and readjustment in an advanced position as 
the work progresses. 

Other methods of supporting a line above the ditch 
to serve as a guide in laying tiles have been adopted. 
In laying sewer pipes, a wider and deeper ditch, (twelve 



Fig. 32. Gauge 
Stake. 



HOW TO MAKE TILE DRAINS. 



165 




166 



LAiifD DRAINING. 



to fifteen feet deep), is usually required, than in ordinary 
drainage, and stakes are driven on eacli side of it at con- 
yenient intervals, and crossbars nailed to them to sup- 
port the line, in the manner represented in fig. 34. In 
order to facilitate the adjustment of the crossbars, and 
the removal of the apparatus to a new position. Prof. 
R. 0. Carpenter lias planned a method of clamping the 



rrtHT 




Fig. 34. 

cross bars to the stakes, represented in the separate 
pieces in fig. 34, which will be found more convenient 
than to fasten them with nails. 

In my own experience in fixing the line, the iron 
clamps, found in every hardware store, for fastening the 
corners of quilting frames, have been used for clamping 
the crossbars to the stakes, which, on the whole, is the 
cheapest and most satisfactory method I have tried. 
Where a wide ditch is required for laying the larger 
sizes of tiles, or sewer pipes, at depths exceeding four or 
five feet, this method of supporting the line has some 
advantages, but for laying tiles of six inches, or less, 
from four to five feet deep, as practiced in farm drain- 
age, the method represented in fig. 33 has proved, in 
my experience, the most satisfactory, as it is much 
cheaper, more convenient, and less time is required in 



HOW TO MAKE TILE DRAINS. 167 

moving and readjusting the line, while the apparatus, 
from the smaller number and bulk of the pieces, has 
decided advantages in portability. 

In laying tiles four feet deep, seven feet has proved 
to be a convenient distance to place the line above the 
proposed grade, as a man can readily work under it when 
all but the last foot of excavation has been made. The 
position of the first tile at the outlet is the fixed point 
from which the grade must start, and the line is, accord- 
ingly, placed seven feet above its bed. The question 
will then arise as to the proper height of the line at the 
upper shears. If a depth of four feet has been decided 
upon, the line must, evidently, be placed three feet 
above the surface of the ground, but its position, when 
so fixed, should be tested, before any tiles are laid, to 
ascertain, beyond any doubt, that it represents a suffi- 
cient fall in the right direction. This precaution is 
absolutely necessary when the surface is nearly level and 
but a slight fall can be obtciined. This verification may 
readily be made with a builders' spirit level, which can 
be obtained at any hardware store for one dollar, or less. 
When the line is in place the level held under it will 
show whether there is a good fall or not ; but when the 
fall is slight a more exact method will be required. 

To secure greater accuracy in the use of the level, 
provide two strips of board, two or three inches wide, 
and three or four feet long, with the lower ends sharp- 
ened and the tops square. Drive these stakes in the 
ground (so that they will stand firmly), about twenty 
inches apart, at a point nearly opposite the middle of 
the line, and about twenty feet from it. They should 
be so placed that the level resting on them is parallel to 
the line, and it can then be leveled by driving one or the 
other of the stakes, as may be required. When the level 
is accurately adjusted, stand back of it, two or three 
feet, and bring the eye in range with its upper edge and 



168 LAJ^D DRAIN^ING. 

the line over the ditch. A considerable length of the 
line will then be seen over the level, within the range of 
its ends, and its slope will be readily seen. If the fall is 
not sufficient, as the line is adjusted, its upper end 
must be raised, by bringing the arms of its shears nearer 
together, or, if the indicated fall is more than is required, 
the arms of the upper shears may be driven into the 
ground to lower the line at that point, and the desired 
grade may, in this way, be easily established. When 
laying tiles where there is but little fall, and strict accu- 
racy is therefore required, it has been my practice to 
keep the level adjusted opposite the line, so that any 
accidental displacement could be detected and remedied 
without any delay in the progress of the work. 

Measuring Rod. — When the line is properly ad- 
justed, a light rod just seven feet long is used to meas- 
ure, or gauge, from it, the grade on which the tiles are 
to be laid. As the excavation should not, in any case, 
be made below the desired grade, from the difficulty of 
filling the depression so that the tiles will not settle 
under the pressure upon them when the ditch is filled, 
the measuring rod should be frequently used to ascertain 
the exact amount of excavation to be made. By placing 
the lower end of the rod on the bottom of the ditch at 
any time, the distance of its top above the line will, of 
course, indicate the remaining depth to be dug. It is 
important, in using the measuring rod, that it is kept 
vertical when gauging the depth of the drain, and that 
the line is over the middle of the ditch, as an inclination 
of the rod in either direction will have the effect to 
shorten it. By holding the rod lightly between the 
thumb and fingers, near its upper end, it will then serve 
as a plumb, to indicate its proper position in measuring 
from the line. 

When the tiles are laid to the upper shears, the line 
can be adjusted over the next section of the ditch in a 



HOW TO MAKE TILE DRAINS. 169 

few minutes, the upper shears remaining in place, and 
the lower shears carried forward to the upper end of the 
line. This change in position, and readjustment of the 
line, can be made in less time than it takes to describe 
the process, and the level is then carried forward to a 
new position, to verify the results of the new adjustment. 

A word of caution must here be given in regard to 
the use and care of the line. New lines, and those that 
have been wet, are liable to stretch, and constant atten- 
tion is required, to detect and correct the first indica- 
tions of sagging, and prevent a consequent sag in the 
drain. To keep the line dry, and avoid annoyance from 
its variations in length from the effects of moisture, it 
should be taken in at night, or whenever work is sus- 
pended, and readjusted when the work is resumed. If 
the tiles have not been laid to the upper shears, when 
work is suspended at any time, it will be best, in readjust- 
ing the line, to start from the last tile laid, by bringing 
the lower shears forward to it, when work is resumed, 
so that tiles may be laid the whole length of the line 
before it is again moved. These details may be looked 
upon as trifles hardly worth mentioning, but success in 
laying tiles will depend upon attention to many small 
matters, which, in the aggregate, are not inconsiderable. 

How Tiles are Laid. — The ditch having been 
dug to within eight or ten inches of the bottom, and the 
line properly adjusted over the middle of the ditch, two 
men may begin the work of finishing the excavation and 
laying the tiles, which we will suppose are for a four- 
inch main, beginning at the outlet. A level-headed boy, 
or the proprietor as superintendent if he does not pre- 
fer to lay the tiles himself, will facilitate the work by 
managing the measuring rod, and performing any other 
sei*vice that may be required, from time to time, outside 
the ditch. 

One of the men standing in the ditch, with his face 
towards the outlet, with the six-inch draining spade, 



170 



LAN^D DRAIKIKG. 



slices off the earth, or loosens it to nearly the required 
depth, moving backwards as the work progresses, while 
the tile-layer stands facing him and throws out the loose 
earth with a shoyel scoop, or the draining scoop, fig. 30, 
as may be most convenient. When the excavation has 
been finished for a distance of three or four feet, the 
tile-layer planes a groove in the bottom of the ditch with 
the draining scoop, to the- required grade, as gauged 
with the measuring rod, and lays two or three tiles in it 
with their ends closely in contact, and covers them with 
five or six inches of earth, on which he then stands, 




Fig. 35. 



packing it around the tiles as he proceeds with his work. 
The next section of the ditch is then prepared for three 
or four tiles by a repetition of the process of excavation 
— planing a groove for the tiles — laying them and cov- 
ering with earth, to form a platform on which the tile 
layer advances, and the same routine is again repeated. 
By following this system, it will be seen that the 
feet of the workmen are not within eight or ten inches 



HOW TO MAKE TILE DRAINS. 171 

of the bottom of the ditch, the man with the draining 
spade standing on the earth to be excavated, and the 
tile hijer on his underdrained platform, as represented 
in fig. 35, is exempt from the annoyances from mud and 
water that are usually associated with the work of drain- 
ing. If the bottom of the ditch is soft, and water is 
running over it, the man with the draining spade will 
be standing in mud, which will interfere with his effi- 
ciency and the general progress of the work. This can, 
however, be obviated in a very simple way, that more 
than repays the extra trouble it involves. A one and 
one-half or two inch pine plank about six feet long, and 
a little narrower than the bottom of the ditch, is laid 
down for him to stand on. l^ear the upper end of the 
plank a hole should be bored, in which a small rope is 
tied, its free end being thrown over the edge of the ditch 
to keep it out of the mud. With this the plank can be 
pulled back from time to time, as may be required. 

In the judicious application of this method the 
draining sj^ade and the draining scoop are kept in sup- 
porting distance, each man being able to aid the other 
in any exigency that may arise, and their efficiency, 
through their combined efforts, will be materially 
increased. If the bottom of the ditch is hard, or small 
stones or pebbles interfere with the free use of the drain- 
ing scoop, the draining spade is within reach, and its 
rounded point will readily chip out and loosen the 
obstructions. The man with the draining spade must 
constantly be on the lookout to facilitate the work of 
the tile layer, by making a straight trench, and render- 
ing any assistance that is made possible from the advan- 
tages of his position. With the exercise of ordinary 
skill and judgment in making the last excavation, frag- 
ments of soil and mud may be prevented from entering 
the open mouth of the drain, by keeping the ditch clean, 
and finished to the grade, by the use of the draining 



172 LAKD DRAINIITG. 

scoop, for a short distance above the last tile laid, and 
this will serve also as a starting point for the scoop in 
planing the groove for the next tiles. 

Protection of the Joints. — Drains of moderate 
fall are liable to obstruction if silt is allowed to enter 
them, and the joints between the tiles should be suffi- 
ciently close to keep it out. To secure this essential 
condition, attention must be especially directed to the 
upper part of the joints, as silt from ordinary soils will 
readily work down into the drain through small fissures 
in the upper half of the tiles, while it would not pass 
through considerably wider ones on their under side. 
Close joints at the top of the tiles must, then, be looked 
upon as absolutely necessary, while, in the lower half of 
the joints, close approximations of the ends of the tiles 
are, of course, desirable, and care should be taken to 
secure them, yet they are not as imperatively required 
to insure the permanence of the drain. 

Tight joints at the top of the old-fashioned sole, 
and horseshoe tiles, could seldom be made, and the 
defect was remedied by laying a piece of sod over the 
joint before covering the tiles with earth. Even the 
round tiles of a few years ago frequently had uneven 
ends, so that perfect joints could not readily be made, 
and a protection of sods, or other materials, was needed, 
to make a reliable drain. The labor involved in cutting 
and distributing sods along the line of the drain, was a 
serious objection to their use, and in many cases they 
could not, without great trouble, be obtained. The best 
and cheapest substitute for sods, all things considered, 
according to my experience, was found to be strips of 
tarred roofing paper, about two inches wide, and long 
enough to cover the upper half of the joints, as they 
were convenient to use, could be kept always ready 
when needed, and served the purpose admirably. 

With greater care in the manufacture of tiles, aris- 
ing from increased competition, and when the best qual- 



HOW TO MAKE TILE DRAINS. 173 

ity of clay, free from pebbles, is used, these defects are 
not as common, but they have not entirely disappeared. 
When the ends of the tiles are square, and. reasonably 
true, so that close fitting joints can be made by rotating 
the last tile in its bed, as it is laid, there is really no 
need of any protection as a general rule, as ordinary 
soils, when firmly packed over the tiles, will not work 
through into the drains. If the ends of the tiles, how- 
ever, are not in contact at the top, and a space is left 
that will admit a thin knife-blade, they should be cov- 
ered with strips of tarred paper, or some other material, 
and it may be well, as a matter of precaution, to cover 
all of the joints when laying tiles, if actual contact of 
their ends in the upper half of the joints cannot quite 
uniformly be secured. While tight joints need no pro- 
tection, too much care cannot be exercised in thoroughly 
covering and protecting all imperfect joints. 

Laterals and Junctions. — Main and sub-main 
drains should, if possible, be laid, as already suggested, 
at least their diameter lower than the branches, or lat- 
erals, which empty into them, so that the drains may 
run full without setting back water into its tributaries, 
and checking the flow of water in them. Laterals 
should, therefore, enter a main drain near its top, or 
crown, and at an angle that will favor the discharge of 
their water with the current towards the outlet. A dis- 
charge of water into a drain at right angles to its course 
will check its current, and if the drain is running full 
this will, in effect, diminish its capacity. 

When the course of a lateral is nearly, or quite, at 
right angles to the main into which it is to empty, a 
change in its direction on a gradual curve, will be 
required just before it reaches the main, so that a junc- 
tion may be made for its discharge in the general course 
of the current towards the outlet. If the main is low 
enough to allow it, a slight increase* in the fall on this 
curve will be desirable. 



174 



LAND DRAIiq^IKG. 



Manufacturers of tiles now make Y, fig. 36, and V, 
fig. 37, junctions for tiles of all sizes, and curves, fig. 38, 
of different degrees of curvature, for changing the direc- 
tion of drains. 

When the mains are laid these junctions may be 
put in where the laterals are required, the end of the 
branch being closed with a flat stone, or piece of brick, 




Fig. 36. F Junction. 



Fig. 37. V Junction. 



until needed. An accurate record of these junctions 
should be made on the map, so that they can easily be 
found when the laterals are to be laid. Their place in 
the field may also be marked with a stake, but this is 
liable to be displaced, and should not be the only record. 
Even with these aids in construc- 
tion, it will, in most cases, be 
found necessary to cut tiles, more 
or less, to form perfect joints in 
making connection with them, and 
avoid abrupt angles in the drain. 
Tile Picks.— The tools re- 
quired for this purpose, and for 
cutting and fitting tiles in other places, are the hammer 
pick, fig. 39, or the hatchet pick, fig. 40. With a little 
practice tiles may be cut, and junctions readily made, 
with either of these tools. In my own practice, for sev- 
eral years, the hammer form has almost always been 
used, as, on the whole, the most convenient. These 
tools should be made of the best steel, and have a cold- 
chisel temper, in order to cut well burned tiles. The 




Fig. 38. CtJEVEs. 



HOW TO MAKE TILE DRAINS. 



175 



head of the hammer pick may be about seyen-eighths of 
an inch square at the largest point, and four and one- 
fourth inches long, or about the weight of a light rivet- 
ing hammer, the sides and face being flat, with sharp 
angles all round. The point of both tools should ter- 
minate in an abrupt bevel, 
like the edge of a cold-chisel, 
as a slender point will break, 
and cannot be kept sharp. 
The ^^edge" of the hatchet 
pick should have a similar 
bevel, or it may be one- 
fourth of an inch wide and 
ground flat at right angles 
to its sides. 

To make a junction, 
pick a hole through the side 




Fig. 39. Hammer Pick. 
of a tile from the main, with the 
point of one of these tools, and en- 
large it in an oblong form, the width 
being about equal to the inside diam- 
eter of the tile which is to form the 
branch. The end of this branch 
tile is then beveled and hollowed 
out to fit the outside of the tile from 
the main at the proper angle. When a good fit is 
made by chipping with, the point, or cutting with the 
sharp angles of the hammer or hatchet, as may be most 
convenient, place the branch in its proper position over 
the hole in the tile from the main, and by looking 




Fig. 40. Hatchet Pick. 



176 LKND DRAINING. 

through its bore the additional cutting or trimming of 
the hole in the main, that is required to allow a free dis- 
ci] ar^e from the lateral, will readily be seen. When the 
fitting of the two tiles together is finished they are laid 
in position in the drain, and the earth, packed around 
them to hold the branch in place. 

To Lay the Laterals, begin at a junction laid in 
the main, and make a connection with its branch by cut- 
ting the ends of the first tiles more or less obliquely, to 
make good joints, and give the proper direction for the 
tiles to be laid. Care must be taken to secure a firm 
bed for these connections, by making as little excavation 
as possible to bring the tiles to their place, and in cover- 
ing them the earth must be packed to prevent any dis- 
placement when the ditch is filled. The ditch for the 
laterals is dug, the shears and line adjusted, and the 
tiles laid, as described above in the case of the main 
drain, the lower shears being placed over the junction 
at the point where the true grade of the lateral begins. 
When the laterals are finished the ends of the last tiles 
should be carefully covered with a half brick, or a flat 
stone, to keep out silt. 

When ready-made junctions cannot be obtained the 
mains may be laid without reference to the laterals, or 
junctions may be made with a tile pick for the laterals 
that are to be laid at the time, care being taken to pre- 
vent any displacement of the branch before the laterals 
are connected with it. After reaching a junction, it 
will be seen that two gangs of hands may be employed 
at the same time, if desirable, the one laying the con- 
tinuation of the main, and the other laying the lateral. 

After a main has been finished and a lateral is to be 
laid, at any time, where no junction has been provided, 
let the ditcb for the lateral begin over the main, bearing 
in mind the curve required at the lower end of the lat- 
eral in making the connection, and uncover the tile in 



HOW TO MAKE TILE DRAINS. 177 

which the junction is to be made. After removing the 
earth from its side towards the ditch as far as may be 
necessary, roll it out of its bed, pick a hole at the point 
previously marked for the branch, which is then fitted 
to form a junction. The tile taken from the main is 
then returned to its former place, the branch is secured 
in its proper position, and the connecting tiles are laid 
to the beginning of the straight course of the lateral, 
after which the work is carried on according to the reg- 
ular routine. A change in direction, or a curve in a 
drain, may be made, by trimming the ends of the tiles 
to a slight angle and smoothing the surface to make a 
tight joint. 



CHAPTER X. 

Drains in Quicksand and Peat. 

Beds, or pockets, of quicksand are frequently found 
within four feet of the surface, in many localities in the 
drift formation, and they have been looked upon as seri- 
ous obstacles in draining, that could not be surmounted 
when tiles alone are used. Boards and foundations of 
stones to support the drain, or conduits of planks, and 
built-up drains of stones, were believed to be necessary, 
by writers who gave any attention to draining in quick- 
sand,* and in late years collars are frequently mentioned 
as indispensable if tiles are used. These expensive 
methods, in connection with the popular notion that 
quicksand will work into a drain wherever water can 
enter, have tended to discourage attempts to drain land 
which might be made valuable by a comparatively mod- 

*Heiiry Stephens, Manual of Pract. Drain., 3d ed., 1848, p. 14. 
Munn's Pract. Land Drainer, N. Y., 1855, p. 132. French, Farm Drain- 
age, 1859, p. 314. Loudon, Encycl. of Agr'l, 6th ed., 1869, p. 702. 

12 



178 LAND DEAIiq^ING. 

erate outlay under a more consistent system of manage- 
ment. Boards and stones should never be used in quick- 
sand^ as they serve no useful purpose, and materially 
increase the difficulties of construction ; while collars 
only serve to hide imperfect joints, and are, therefore, a 
source of weakness in the finished drain. A careful con- 
sideration of the properties of quicksand, and its behav- 
ior under different conditions, will suggest the most 
available means of obviating the difficulties presented in 
its management. 

What is known as quicksand, flowing-sand, or run- 
ning-sand, is a fine-grained sand, without angles in its 
particles to increase friction, and sometimes mixed with 
fine clay, that is easily moved when saturated with 
water, and readily yields to intermittent pressure. It is 
freely transported by running water, but, when closely 
confined and kept in place, it resists continuous pres- 
sure, and when thoroughly drained it furnishes a stable 
foundation for tiles that are properly laid to drain it. 
If a pocket, or bed, of quicksand is met with in digging 
a ditch, and the level of the water table is above the 
sand, it offers no resistance to the hydrostatic pressure 
and runs into the ditch as fast as it is removed, keeping 
the level required to establish an equilibrium between 
its own weight and the pressure to which it is subjected. 
If the excavation is continued, under these conditions, 
the banks of the ditch are undermined and cave off, fill- 
ing it with a mass of earth, which must be removed, 
and this process may be repeated, if further excavations 
are made. When the water has considerable head, as it 
will have, in a wet season, or in the case of springs, the 
sand will ''boil up" into the ditch, filling it to a greater 
or less height, according to the head of water to which 
it is exposed. 

These facts are suggestive, and of great practical 
significance. From its characteristic qualities, quick- 



DRAINS IN QUICKSAND. 170 

sand varies in its behavior with the conditions of its 
environment, and, in dealing with it, the conditions must 
be provided which increase its stability, and these may- 
be formulated in the following rules for its successful 
management in draining : 1st. In land in which quick- 
sands abound, drains should only be made in the sum- 
mer, when the water table is at its lowest level. 2d. 
When quicksand is found in the bottom of the ditch it 
should not be disturbed until the tiles are ready to be 
laid. 3d. The mouth of the tile which has been laid 
into the edge of the quicksand should be covered with a 
sod, grass-side down, or some other form of screen, to 
keep sand from flowing into the drain, and work should 
be suspended until the water table is lowered to the level 
of the drain. 4th. The ditch should not be opened, to 
expose the quicksand, more than a rod or two in advance 
of the tile-laying. The pertinence of these rules will 
readily be seen from the fact, that in time of drouth, 
ditches are dug and tiles laid in fine sand, without any 
diflSculty^ when the same sand, if flooded, or saturated 
with water, would at once be recognized as a bad form 
of quicksand. 

In my first experience with quicksand in draining, 
the attempt was made to follow the usual practice of 
curbing the sides of the ditch and proceeding at once 
with the tile-laying as rapidly as possible. The expense 
involved in this method, and the unsatisfactory results 
obtained, soon convinced me that it was better to wait 
for the water table to be lowered by the drain already 
laid, and this has proved to be the most economical and 
only satisfactory plan. It is certainly better to stop 
work for a few days, or a week, or more, if necessary, 
according to the extent of the quicksand, and the 
amount of water to be discharged, than to perform 
disagreeable labor under difficulties, without obtaining 
any equivalent in actual pi-ogress. 



180 LA.ND DRAINING. 

The dangers of obstruction from the sand entering 
the drain are not as imminent as at first sight might 
appear, if care is taken to place a sod oyer the end of 
the upper tile whenever work is suspended, and the 
drain has been laid on a true grade, with even a moder- 
ate fall, increasing towards the outlet. From the form 
of the channel in a round tile, quicksand is moved by a 
slight current, that would not affect coarser particles of 
angular sand, and if it enters the drain in but moderate 
amount it passes on and is discharged at the outlet. 
Where there are depressions in the line of the grade the 
sand will, undoubtedly, be deposited, and the import- 
ance of laying the tiles on a true grade, with a constant 
descent towards the outlet, must be manifest. With 
reasonable care in every step of the process of tile laying, 
it will not be difficult to prevent the sand from entering 
the drain in sufficient quantity to form an obstruction. 

Tile Laying in Quicksand. — The water table hav- 
ing been lowered so that work can be resumed, the line 
is adjusted over the ditch, with the lower shears directly 
over the last tile laid. As sand only is to be excavated, 
scoops will alone be used. The tile layer, with a drain- 
ing scoop (fig. 30), stands in the ditch on the earth cov- 
ering the tiles already laid, and his assistant, if needed, 
with a shovel scoop, stands on the movable plank in the 
ditch, rather farther back than when using the draining 
spade. Walking or standing in the ditch without the 
protection of the plank to distribute a person's weight 
over a larger surface than the unprotected feet, should 
be strictly prohibited. 

How to Use the Scoop. — The excavation for the 
tiles must now be made with great care, to prevent any 
unnecessary disturbance of the sand, and success will 
largely depend upon the manner in which the scoop is 
used, if ther.e is water still running in the ditch. When 
the blade of the scoop is in the sand, if its handle is 



DRAINS IN QUICKSAND. 181 

depressed, the air cannot enter under its point, and sand 
will be forced up from below, or pressed in at the sides, 
to fill the space through which the point of the blade 
has moYcd, and when the scoopful of sand is lifted the 
disturbed sand from the sides of the drain will move in 
to fill its place. To prevent this unstable condition of 
the sand the blade of the scoop should be pressed into it 
with a firm and steady movement, and its heel gently 
raised to admit the air under it, when it can be raised 
with its load without causing an inrush of sand to fill 
the excavation. The aim should be to raise the load on 
the scoop without communicating any tremor or jar to 
the surrounding sand. Whether a groove will be left in 
the bottom of the ditch, or not, when a scoopful of 
sand is thrown out, will then depend upon the manner 
in which the work is performed. When an excavation 
is being made in quicksand, it is in unstable equilibrium, 
and any sudden jar or tremulous movement of anything 
in contact with it will set it in motion. For this reason 
the measuring rod must be used with care, its lower end 
barely touching the bottom of the groove when getting 
the gauge of the grade from the line over the ditch. 

A bed having been made for two tiles, and the 
length of the blade of the scoop beyond, if possible, 
they are carefully laid, with particular attention to mak- 
ing tight joints, which are then covered with a thin 
piece of a firm sod, or a strip of tarred paper. If the 
sod extends beyond the sides of the tiles it will do no 
harm, but it should be put in place without any jar to 
disturb the sand. With the same precautions fine earth, 
free from lumps, should now be placed over the tiles to 
the depth of several inches. Moreover, in packing it, 
the pressure must be the same on each side of the tiles, 
but when the ditch is filled above the level of the wet 
sand it will be safe to walk or stand upon it, in the exca- 
vation and laying the tiles in the next section, but it 



182 LAND DRAINIl!TG. 

will be well to bear in mind the unstable character of 
the soil beneath. 

In most cases tiles may be laid, in this way, through 
the partly drained quicksand, with satisfactory accuracy, 
without any serious difficulty, but sometimes an extra 
soft place may be found for a short distance, where the 
ditch passes over a copious spring, in which it may be 
necessary to lay sods to furnish a sufficient support for 
the tiles until they are covered with earth. In such an 
emergency the sods should be of nearly uniform thick- 
ness and cover the bottom of the ditch from side to side, 
after the excavation has been made as close to the desired 
grade as the conditions will permit. To lay a tile, in 
such cases, place it on the sod, and stand with oDe foot 
upon it to bring it to the grade, and make a joint with 
the preceding tile. If it settles too low, place thin sods 
under it until it is brought to the grade when bearing a 
man's weight, and cover the joint with a wide sod, and 
pack the earth on each side and over it when still under 
pressure. The measuring rod, to determine the proper 
grade, should be used from the top of the tile, the diam- 
eter of which should be marked on the upper end of the 
rod to gauge with the line. With sufficient care, and 
the exercise of a little ingenuity and judgment, such 
places may be bridged over with satisfactory results, and 
the drain kept to the required grade. 

Several years after laying tiles in tlie manner 
described above, through an unusually bad bed of quick- 
sand, the top of which w^as nearly two feet above the 
grade of the drain, the tiles were uncovered for a dis- 
tance of between two and three rods, to ascertain whether 
any displacement had taken place when they were laid. 
The drain was found to be in perfect condition, and the 
tiles varied less than half an inch from a true grade, 
and the permanent character of the work was evident. 
In numerous similar cases drains are running well that 



DRAINS IN PEAT. 183 

have been laid more than fifteen years, without any 
known instance of failure. 

Tiles in Peat. — Tiles laid in peaty soils are much 
more liable to displacement than when well laid in quick- 
sand, and care in laying them is necessary to secure a 
permanent drain. In draining marsh lands where the 
peat extends below the grade of the drains, it may not 
be advisable to lay tiles until the soil has been allowed 
to settle, after draining with open ditches. When tiles 
are laid in peat the excavation should never be made 
below the line of grade, from the difficulty of filling the 
depression, to secure a uniform grade in the drain when 
the ditches are filled. On account of the unstable char- 
acter of peat as a foundation for a tile drain, three-inch 
laterals have been used, and they appear to have a num- 
ber of advantages over smaller sizes. 

Marsh soils, containing a large proportion of peat, 
become more compact when drained, thus diminishing 
the depth of soil above the drains. It is a common 
error, in draining swamps, to make the drains too shal- 
low, and the subsequent shrinking, or settling of the 
soil, brings them still nearer the surface. If a suitable 
outlet can be secured, tiles in peaty soils should be laid, 
at least four feet deep, and it would be better to have 
that depth after the soil has settled. Marsh lands should 
be thoroughly drained, in order to give the best results, 
as they are naturally retentive of moisture, and, if they 
are saturated with water for a considerable time in a wet 
spring, their value during the following season will be 
very much impaired, through defective soil metabolism. 

Most of the failures in draining marsh lands that 
have come under my observation are clearly attributable 
to insufficient drainage, and the flooding of the soil in 
wet seasons, or in wet spring months. The facts pre- 
sented in chapter five, in regard to the capacity of 
drained soils to absorb and retain capillary water, and 



184 LAKD DEAINIKG. 

the beneficial effects of deep and thorough drainage in 
times of drouth, must be sufficient to indicate the falla- 
cies of the unfounded assumption^ that there is danger 
of making marsh soils too dry by thorough draining. 
A deep range for root distribution is quite as important 
in peaty, as in upland soils, and shallow drainage is not 
a rational remedy for prospectiye drouths. Peaty soils, 
as a general rule, yield slowly to the ameliorating effects 
of draining, under the most favorable conditions, and 
the water table must be kept uniformly below the stratum 
of soil it is proposed to make available for growing crops^ 
in order to obtain satisfactory results. 



CHAPTER XL 

Outlets ai^d OBSTRUCTioiij'S. 

One of the essential conditions of an efificient drain, 
or system of drains, is a sufficient outlet for the dis- 
charge of the water brought to it without checking or 
retarding its current. When the outfall will permit, it 
may be advisable to lay the tiles deeper at the outlet, 
and for some distance up the main, to secure a better 
fall in the drains tributary to it, especially when the 
surface of the area to be drained is nearly level. Lat- 
erals discharging directly into an open ditch, or creek, 
are particularly liable to a displacement, or obstruction, 
of the tiles at the mouth of the drains, from various 
causes that need not be enumerated. Instead of these 
numerous outlets, that require constant attention to 
keep them in working order, it will be better to lay an 
intercepting main some distance back of the open ditch, 
or other water course, to collect and discharge the water 
at a single outlet which can be suitably protected. On 



OUTLETS \NI) OBSTRUCTIONS. 185 

the whole, this will result in a saving of expense, and, 
what is quite as important, it will insure efficiency in the 
system of drainage. 

Outlet of Drains.— The outlets of tile drains 
should be protected from the dangers of displacement by 
the action of frost, the washing of the banks where they 
come to the surface, and the treading of cattle, and pro- 
visions should be made to keep vermin from entering 
the drain to cause an obstruction. The best, and, in the 
long run, the cheapest, protection for the outlet, is a 
retaining wall of stones, laid in cement mortar, the 
foundation extending below the action of frost, and the 
top carried three feet, or more, above the drain, to sup- 
port the earth covering its approach to the outlet. The 
tiles at the outlet should be well burned, and impervious 
to water, to prevent crumbling by frost, and the ter- 
minal tile, projecting several inches from the face of the 
retaining wall, should be a size larger than those above 
it, to provide room and opportunity for protection by a 
grating, or other device, to keep out vermin, without 
impeding the discharge from the drain. A length of 
glazed sewer pipe, a size larger than the drain, will form 
an efficient and convenient outlet, with advantages that 
will readily be recognized. A grating of some kind 
should be placed over the end of the drain, to keep out 
vermin, or a valve, placed obliquely at the end, or just 
within the last tile, so that it will open freely by the 
force of the current, and close as the flow of water 
diminishes, will serve the same purpose if properly 
adjusted. As the efficiency of the entire system of drain- 
age depends upon a free discharge of water at the outlet, 
these precautions to prevent any displacement of the 
tiles, and to guard against possible causes of obstruction, 
cannot be considered as of minor importance. 

The exercise of good judgment, and skill in engin- 
eering, may, in many cases, be required to make the 



186 LAND DKAIKING. 

best location for the lower course of a main drain, and 
in deciding upon tlie most available outlet. When the 
natural surface drainage of a field is over lands of an 
adjoining owner, and a long line of drain would be 
required to follow the lowest line of descent, a short cut 
may sometimes be made by a deeply laid main, with a 
saving in exjDcnse, and at the same time an undesirable 
partnership interest in the drain may be avoided. In 
Mr. Woods' system of drainage, which has already been 
noticed, a considerable saving in the expense was effected, 
and the drain kept on his own land, by making a cut of 
more than twice the depth of the rest of the drain for 
the five-inch main, for several rods through a ridge, and 
a better fall, owing to the shorter distance, was likewise 
obtained. Dej)ressions of the surface, or isolated basins, 
frequently occur, that may be drained by a deep cut for 
the main, when an outfall can be found within a reason- 
able distance. When the retentive soil of these basins 
rests upon a bed of sand or gravel, as is frequently the 
case, a well, sunk to the previous strata, may serve as an 
outlet into which the drains are made to empty, and 
when they are finished the well may be bridged over, 
just above the level of the tiles, and covered with soil, 
so that they will not interfere with the cultivation of 
the field. 

Care of Drains. — Drains of round tiles laid on a 
true grade, with closely fitting joints, may be looked 
upon as permanent improvements, but at the same time, 
it is well to keep in mind the fact, that under certain 
conditions they are liable to obstructions, which should 
at once be removed, to avoid the risk of an increase of 
the difficulty and a complete stoppage of the drain. As 
these accidents seldom occur, they may be overlooked in 
their early stages, when most easily remedied, if frequent 
attention is not given to the drains to see that they are 
in working order. 



OUTLETS AND OBSTRUCTIONS. 187 

Obstructions. — If the outlet is protected to pre- 
vent an invasion by vermin, and the tiles have been 
properly laid, the only causes of obstruction that require 
special attention, are the stoppage of the drain by the 
roots of '* water-loving trees," by deposits of oxide of 
iron, or from a displacement of the tiles by what is pop- 
ularly called a *^ washout," when the drains are running 
full under a considerable head of water after an extraor- 
dinary rainfall. 

Obstruction by Roots — The roots of trees some- 
times find their way into the tiles, even when close joints 
have been made, and the drain is, more or less, com- 
pletely filled with a spongy mass of fine fibrous rootlets, 
through which the water cannot run. Elms and wil- 
lows are the most common intruders, but the roots of 
the ash, the poplars and alders have been reported as 
causes of obstruction, and the list should, perhaps, be 
extended. Even the roots of farm crops have been 
known to cause an obstruction in tiles under favorable 
conditions. The roots of mangels have been found in 
tiles at a depth of three and one-half feet, and the roots 
of horse radish have been reported as causing a complete 
stoppage of tiles at a depth of seven feet. 

On the other hand, drains have continued to work 
without obstruction in the vicinity of elms and willows, 
and farm crops of all kinds have been grown on drained 
land without any indication that their roots interfered 
with the integrity of the drains. The invasion of tiles 
by the roots of plants must, therefore, be determined by 
special conditions, that are not the necessary results of 
draining. 

From a careful examination of the cases reported, 
in connection with my own observations, it appears to 
me evident that a perennial stream of water in the drain, 
and a prevailing drouth, are the essential conditions for 
the stoppage of tiles by the roots of plants^ and I have 



188 LAN^D DEAINING. 

failed to find a single instance in which roots have 
stopped a drain that was dry for seyeral weeks in the 
summer. When drains receive water from springs, so 
that they continue to run in time of severe drouth, 
roots, from a deficiency of moisture in the soil, enter the 
tiles for a more abundant supply. As the water in the 
drain carries in solution food materials, which are made 
available by the plants, the roots are rapidly developed, 
as they always are in good feeding grounds, and they 
may extend for some distance along the drain, until, by 
the increase in numbers, it is completely full. In dry 
v/eather in the summer the water table is usually consid- 
erably below the level of farm drains, so that they fail 
to run for several weeks in succession, and the roots of 
plants have no inducement to enter the drains. On the 
other hand, when the water table rises, so that the 
drains begin to run, roots have convenient supplies of 
water, without resorting to the abnormal method of 
entering the drains. 

When drains have been stopped with roots, trees in 
the immediate vicinity have been cut down, as the sup- 
posed intruders, without remedying the evil, which has 
finally been traced to trees several hundred feet from 
the drain. The only remedy for this form of obstruc- 
tion is the removal of the offending trees, and, where 
there are several growing in the vicinity, it may be diffi- 
cult to decide which one is the exciting cause. 

Washouts in Drains. — A common cause of ob- 
struction, in drains that are carelessly made, is the dis- 
placement of the tiles by a "washout," when the fall 
has been diminished towards the outlet. The dimin- 
ished fall involves a decrease in the velocity of the cur- 
rent, and when the tiles are running full, the capacity 
of the drain, in its lower course, is not sufficient to 
freely discharge the volume of water received from above. 
The influence of a diminished fall in retarding the flow 



OUTLETS AND OBSTRUCTIONS. 189 

of water in a drain, will be sufficiently illustrated by a 
few figures from a table by Prof. E. 0. Carpenter, of 
Cornell University.* A three-inch tile, with a fall of 
four inches in a rod, will discharge about the same 
amount of water as a four-inch tile, on a grade of 
one inch to the rod ; and a four-inch tile, with a fall 
of five inches in a rod, will discharge about the same 
volume of water as a six-inch tile, with a fall of three- 
fourths of an inch in a rod. 

The check given to the current by diminishing the 
fall is extended to the tiles higher up, and the water is 
set back in the drain, until it has sufficient head to force 
the water out at the joints of the tiles in the vicinity of 
the change in grade, and if it then finds its way under, 
or by the sides of, the tiles, they are finally undermined 
by the washing of the soil, until they settle and inter- 
rupt the continuity of the water way. The indications 
of the obstruction are the same as in the stoppage of the 
drain by other causes, and the surface soil over the drain 
may remain undisturbed. 

The remedies for such accidents are obvious, and 
should not be overlooked when the drain is made. After 
extraordinary rains, the mains of farm drains will prob- 
ably run full for several days, which will do no harm if 
the tiles have been laid with proper care, on a true grade 
which is constantly increasing towards the outlet. This 
should be the aim, in planning the drains, in all cases, 
but when it is necessary to diminish the rate of fall in 
the lower course of a main, a larger tile should be laid 
to give an increased capacity, with diminished velocity 
of the current. 

"When a rapid fall in a main is changed to a moder- 
ate one lower down in its course, a considerable enlarge- 
ment of the drain may be necessary to secure a free dis- 
charge of the volume of water brought down by the 

*Mich. Report of the State Bd. of Agr'l, 1886, p. 174. • 



190 LAND DRAINIi^G. 

more rapid current in the tiles above. From the facts 
presented it must be seen that a long main, eyen with 
moderate fall, and receiving branches throughout ifcs 
course, should not be laid its entire length with tiles of 
the same size. If, for example, a six-inch main at the 
outlet is decided upon, as sufficient for the area to be 
drained, from the considerations presented in the pre- 
ceding chapters, it may be diminished to five, and then 
four, and finally three inches, without loss of efiiciency 
and with a considerable saving in the cost of construc- 
tion. Good judgment in the application of correct prin- 
ciples will be required to make the changes in size at 
the proper place. 

It is a common mistake to assume that tile-laying is 
simplified when there is a good fall, and that any one 
can lay tiles under such conditions. In laying tiles 
where there is a rapid fall, extraordinary care should be 
exercised in the alignment of the tiles, and in packing 
the earth closely around them to close all possible chan- 
nels for the passage of water outside of the drain, and in 
connection with the precautions already suggested, the 
importance of close and well protected joints must be 
readily recognized. 

Silt and Silt Basins. — From the imperfect joints 
that were of common occurrence, and almost unavoidable, 
when horseshoe and sole tiles were used, one of the 
most common causes of obstruction was sand, or, in 
general terms, silt, which found its way through the 
defectiye joints and accumulated in places to completely 
fill the tiles, and the recommendation was made to con- 
struct silt basins, at important points in the drain, as at 
junctions, to catch the sand and prevent its passing to 
the drain below. With the improved methods of laying 
round tiles, silt basins are not needed, and after the 
small amount of loose soil unavoidably admitted to the 
drain in the process of tile-laying has been discharged, 



OUTLETS AND OBSTRUCTIONS. 191 

the appearance of silt in the drain mast be considered as 
an evidence of faulty construction. 

When two, or more, important sub-mains join the 
main at the same point, a convenient junction may be 
made by a well of bricks, in which the drains all termi- 
nate. These wells may be closed just above the tiles 
and covered with soil, or they may be continued to the 
surface by an eighteen or twenty-inch sewer pipe, the 
top being secured with a tight-fitting cover. A conven- 
ient means of inspecting the drains may, in this way, be 
provided, but it will seldom be advisable to make them, 
as they interfere, more or less, with the cultivation of 
the field. 

Obstructions from Deposits of Oxide of Iron. 
— In the vicinity of ferruginous deposits in the soil, 
drains are liable to obstruction from an accumulation of 
oxide of iron, especially near the outlet. ''Carbonate of 
iron is the salt contained in most ferruginous springs, in 
which it is held in solution by free carbonic acid ; it is 
rarely present in a larger quantity than one grain per 
pint. Mere exposure to air causes its separation; the 
acid escapes, oxygen is absorbed, and hydrated peroxide 
of iron, mixed with a small quantity of organic matter, 
subsides, forming the ochry deposits so usual around 
chalybeate springs."* 

A rapid fall in the main at the outlet will diminish 
the tendency to these deposits within the drain, but the 
best remedy, on the whole, is a well, as described above, 
on the line of tlie main, some distance from the outlet, 
so that the drain can be conveniently flushed, from time 
to time, by a piece of board placed over the outgoing 
tile, until the water rises in the well above the tiles, 
when it is suddenly allowed to escape, and scour the 
drain below by the force and volume of the current. 



*Miner's Elements of Chemistry, vol. 2, p. 523. 



192 LAKD DKATlSriNG. 

Indications and Location of Obstructions. — 

When an obstruction occurs in the course of a drain, the 
current below it is checked, but may not be entirely 
interrupted, water is dammed back in the tiles higher 
up, and the soil is, more or less, saturated wdth water. 
The crop, growing in the yicinity, often furnishes the 
first indications of insufficient drainage, especially in 
wet seasons, or in time of drouth following a wet spring. 
It is frequently difficult to determine definitely the seat 
of the obstruction, but attention to the behavior of 
water in the soil will materially aid in the solution of 
the problem. Where there is a rapid fall in the drain, 
the water in the soil will percolate down along the 
course of the drain, and the wettest place may be some 
distance below the obstruction. But when the fall is 
slight the local indications at any given point are not 
likely to be as marked, and the obstruction may be below 
the greatest accumulation of the more widely diffused 
water in the soil. 

After a careful examination of all the conditions, to 
locate the fault approximately, trial pits may be dug on 
the line of the drain, at intervals, as determined by the 
indications. If the pit is higher up the drain than the 
point of obstruction, the soil will be wet before the tiles 
are reached, and another pit must be dug lower down 
the line of the drain. When the obstruction is above 
the pit, water will not stand in the excavation over the 
tiles. It will seldom be necessary to dig down and 
uncover the tiles, in order to determine with certainty 
that the place of obstruction is between two of the trial 
pits, and by continuing the same method on a definite 
plan its exact location may be readily ascertained. Sev- 
eral lengths of tiles must then be uncovered, so that one 
of them just below the obstruction can be taken out and 
the obstacle removed. If the stoppage of the drain is 
complete, care must be taken to prevent the cause of the 



OUTLETS AND OBSTRUCTIONS. 193 

obstruction from being carried, by the rush of water, to 
the drain below. 

Empirical rules cannot, however, be formulated to 
meet all possible emergencies. In locating and remov- 
ing obstructions in drains, as well as in drainage con- 
struction, an accurate knowledge of the general princi- 
ples involved in the process will be found the best guide 
in practice, as the means adopted and applied can then 
be adapted to the constantly varying conditions pre- 
sented in the field. Experience, under imperfect meth- 
ods, without the guidance of sound principles, may 
prove to be an expensive teacher. Empirical precepts, 
and routine systems of practice, may be followed with 
fairly satisfactory results under certain conditions, which 
may, perhaps, be present in a majority of cases, but 
when any new factor is introduced to complicate the sit- 
uation, they fail to meet the requirements of the 
changed conditions. 

In the application of general principles, as guides 
in practice, the end to be gained is kept prominently in 
view, and the means of attaining it will be readily sug- 
gested by the various exigencies that may arise. An 
intelligent conformity to the laws that govern nature's 
operations, is essential to success, in its widest significa- 
tion, in the business of farming, which deals with the 
most complex phenomena, under variable and constantly 
changing conditions. 



I2^TIDE3 



Absorption of moisture by 

soils, 88 

Adjustment of line, 162 

Advantages of draining, 71 

Agriculture, how improved, 1 

Anderson, Dr. James, on 

draining, 104 

Animals, source of energy 

of, 31 

Aqueous vapor and radiant 

heat, 67, 89 

Aqueous vapor of atmosphere,. . .68 

Atmosphere, composition of, 13 

Atmosphere, carbonic aeid 

of, 5 

Atmospheric niti'ogen, 13 

Atmospheric moisture ab- 
sorbed by soils, 88, 89 

Atmospheric moisture and 

conservation of energy, 90 

Atmospheric moistiire and 

frosts, 68 

Atmospheric moisture and 

radiant heat, 66 

Bare soil, evajjoration from, 

48,51,57 

Barnyard manure and drain- 
age, 83 

Barnyard manure and mi- 
crobes, . .* 11 

Barnyard manure and soil 

'moisturfe, 82 

Behavior of drainage water 

in soils, 25 

Biological factors in soil me- 
tabolism, 10, 21 

Blith, on draining, 102 

Boning rods, 158 

Buchanan's improvements 

in draining, 106 

Business methods, 1 

Capacity of drains, 144, 147 

Capacity of soils for holding 

water, 78, 80 

Capacity of soils for heat, 65 

Capillarity of soils, 8, 76 

Capillary water in soils,. 24, 75, 144 
Carbon, how api^ropriated 

by plants, 3, 5 

Carbonic acid of atmosphere, 5 

Care of drains, 186 

Cato on draining 97 

Central Park drainage, 146 

Cereals benefited by nitro- 
genous manures, 13 



Chemical changes in soils, 10 

Chlorophyll, use of, 5 

Cii-culation of soil water, 62 

Climate affecting drainage 

and evaporation, 51 

Coal, value of, in evaporating 

water, 59 

Collars for tiles, 152 

Columella on draining, 99 

Compensations of nature, 69 

Condensation of moisture 

liberates heat, 91 

Conditions of plant growth, 

4, 8,9,23 

Conservation of energy, 26 

Constructive metabolism, 28 

Corn, variations in yield, 95 

Corn, water exhaled by crop 

of, 7,60 

Cost of draining tools, 160 

Covered drains, antiquity of, — 99 

Covering of tiles, 113, 143 

Crop statistics of good and 

bad seasons 94 

Curves in drains, how made, ...174 

Dalton's drain gauge, 35 

Deanston system of drain- 
ing, 106 

Deanr.ton system improved 

by Parkes, 112 

Deep draining cheapest, 114 

Depth of drains, 98, 132 

Depth of roots, 9, 72 

Depth of soils 25 

Dew and frost, 69 

Dickinson's drainage experi- 
ments 36 

Direction of drains, 130 

Discharge by Central Park 

drains, 146 

Discharge by drains after 

rains, 145 

Discovery and invention, 

progress of, 96 

Distance between drains, 133 

Ditches for tile drains, 161 

Drainage and drouths, 74 

Drainage and evaporation, 56 

Drainage and rainfall, 35, 155 

Drainage diminished by veg- 
etation, 44 

Drainage experiments by Dr. 

John Dalton, 35 

Drainage experiments by Mr. 

John Dickinson 36 



194 



I^DEX. 



195 



Drainage experiments by 

Mr. John Evans, 44 

Drainage experiments by 

Mr. C. Greaves, 42 

Drainage experiments at 

Geneva, N. Y., 54 

Drainage experiments at 

Rotliamsted, 45 

Drainage water in soils 24 

Drained soils, reservoirs for 

storing water, 93 

Drained soils ntiJize energy 

and moisture, 67 

Drain gauges by Dal ton, 35 

Drain gauges at Geneva, 54 

Drain gauges at Rotliamsted, ... .45 

Draining, advantages of, 71 

Draining briclcs and tiles, 

old forms, 117 

Draining bj^ the ancients, 97 

Draining, indirect advan- 
tages of, 72 

Draining level, how to use, 167 

Draining marsh lands, 183 

Draining scoops, 159 

Draining spades, ". 124 

Draining tiles, evolution of, 116 

Draining tools 159 

Draining tools, obsolete 

forms of, 127 

Drains, care of, 186 

Drains, depth of, 132 

Drains, direction of, 130 

Drains, distance between, 133 

Drains, how rainfall reaches,. . .142 
Drains in quicksand and 

peat, 177 

Drains laid from outlet 137 

Drains, location and plans 

of, 130 

Drains, mapping of, 135 

Drains on farm of A. F. 

Wood, 150 

Drouths and drainage, 74 

Elkington's system of drain- 
ing, 104 

Empirical rules, value of 193 

Energy and drainage Avater, 63 

Energy and soil tempera- 

tiires, 62 

Energy conserved by drain- 
ing, 73 

Energy defined, 26 

Energy derived from the sun, 31 

Energy expended in growth 

of plants and animals, 58 

Energy, farmers interest in, 31 

Energy, how measured, 27 

Energy in evaporation, ■. .58 

Energy in exhalation by 

plants, 60 

Energy in physiology, 28 

Energy, law of its conser- 
vation, 27 

Energy of the universe, 31 

Energy required by animals, 31 

Energy required by plants, 61 I 

Energy, stored or potential,.. 29, 30 I 



Energy, transformations of, 

30,31,32 

Evans' drainage experi- 
ments, 44 

Evaporation and drainage, 35 

Evaporation, energy expend- 
ed in, 59 

Evaporation from a bare 

soil, 48 

Evaporation from a water 

surface, 52 

Evaporation of soil water, 58 

Evaporation, variations in, 50 

Evolution of drain tiles, 116 

Exhalation by plants, 6 

Exhalation per acre by 

wheat, 7 

Exhalation per acre by corn, 7 

Exhaustion of soils 12 

Expenditures of energy, 58 

Extraordinary rainfalls,... .152, 156 
Fallow soils, loss of fertility 

ill 12 

Farm crops, depth of roots 

of, 9,72 

Farm drains, plans and loca- 
tion of, 130 

Farmers dealing with en- 
ergy, 31 

Fermentation, 10 

Fertility and chemical com- 
position of soils, 18 

Fertility and plant food, 23 

Fertility, purchased, i 

Field crops, range of roots 

of, 72 

Field crops, water exhaled 

by, 7 

Flat bottomed tiles, 119 

Food of farm crops, 8, 11 

Four feet a desirable depth 

of drains, 133 

Frequent drain system, 107 

Frost and atmospheric va- 
por, 68 

Frost and dew, 69 

Gauge stakes, 164 

Gauging the grade, 168 

General principles, l 

Geneva, drainage and evap- 
oration, 54 

Germination of seeds, tem- 
perature required, 5 

Grade fixed by a line 158 

Grating for oiitlets, 185 

Greaves' drainage experi- 
ments, 42 

Growing crops, energy ex- 
pended in, 61 

Growing crops, fertility con- 
served by, 11 

Guides in practice, . , 1' 13 

Hammer for cutting tiles, 175 

Hatchet for cutting tiles, 175 

Heat, conserved by atmos- 
pheric vapor 68, 69 

Heat, mechanical equiva- 
lent of 27 



196 



IITDEX. 



Heat of decaying substances, — 30 

Heat units, 27 

Heavy draining scoops, 129 

Hellriegel's experiments 14 

Higli lands drained by Mr. 

Buclianan, 106 

High lands drained by Smith 

of Deanston, 108 

History of drain ing, 96 

Horse shoe tiles and soles, 118 

How does the rainfall reach 

the drains, 142 

How does water enter tile 

drains, 140 

How to make tile drains,. . .157, 169 

Hydrostatic water in soils, 24 

Hygroscopic water of soils, 24 

Hygroscopic water used by 

plants, 91 

Implements for tile drain- 
ing, 123 

Improved farm practice, 1 

Improved methods of drain- 
ing by Mr. Parkes, 115 

Improved methods of drain- 
ing by the Author, 158 

Increasing fall of main tow- 
ards the outlet, 132 

Increasing size of main tow- 
ards the outlet, 190 

Indian corn, exhalation of 

water by, 7, 60 

Indian corn, losses from bad 

seasons, 95 

Indications of deficient drain- 
age, 70 

Indications of obstructions 

in drains 192 

Inherited feeding habits of 

plants, 22 

Inoculation of soils with mi- 
crobes, 18 

Irrigatioii in drouths, 97 

Jolmston of Geneva, N. Y., 116 

Joints of dranis, how made, 175 

Joints of drains, protection 

of, 172 

Junctions of laterals, 173 

Kedzie's observations on ev- 
aporation, 54 

Kedzie's soil experiments, 77 

Kinetic energy, 30 

Laterals and junctions, 173 

Laterals, how laid,.. 176 

Laws of life, 2 

Laying tiles, 169 

Leguminous crops and nitro- 
genous manures, 13 

Leguminous crops and root 

nodules, 14 

Level for draining 167 

Life a factor in farm econo- 
my, 2 

Line, care of, 169 

Line, how adj usted, 162 

Line in j)lace, 165 

Line to determine grade of 

tiles, 158 



Living organisms, require- 
ments of, 4 

Living organisms, role of, 10 

Locating and mapping drains,.. 135 
Locating obstructions in 

drains, 192 

Location and plans of farm 

drains, 130 

Losses from bad seasons, 95 

Loss of fertility in fallows, 12 

Lupines in sterile quartz 

sand, 20 

Lupines, Rothamsted experi- 
ments with, 15 

Main drains, 131 

Main drains, fall increased 

towards outlet 189 

Main drains, size increased 

towards outlet, 190 

Maison Rustique, 100 

Manures and soil moisture, 82 

Manures rotting of, 11 

Manures conserved by grow- 
ing crops, 11 

Map of drains, how made, 135 

Marsh soils, draining in, 183 

Maximum discharge of drains,. 156 

Measuring rod, 168 

Mechanical equivalent of 

heat, 27 

Metabolism defined, 10 

Metabolism of soils and 

drainage, 10, 73 

Michigan, evaporation in, 54 

Michigan rainfall, 151 

Michigan soils, capillarity of, ...76 

Microbes and manures, 11 

Microbes and mineral soil 

constituents, 21 

Microbes and nitrogen sup- 
plies of plant food, 12 

Microbes of nitrification, 12 

Microbes, work of, 11, 21 

Micro-organisms and man- 
ures, 11 

Micro-organisms of soils, 11 

Miles' draining scoop, 126 

Miles' improved methods of 

draining, 158 

Moisture in air dried soils, 93 

Moisture in cropped and un- 

cropped land, 78 

Moisture in soil required by 

plants,.. 6 

Nature's compensations, 69 

Nitric acid as plant food, 12 

Nitrification influenced by 

temperature, 12 

Nitrification microbes 12 

Nitrification of soils, 12 

Nitrogen, as maniire, 4, 12 

Nitrogen, atmospheric sup- 
plies of, 13 

Nitrogen of leguminous crops,. . .13 
Nitrogen <jf organic substan- 
ces and microbes, 12 

Nitrogen conserved by grow- 
ing crops, 11 



IJSTDEX. 



197 



Obsolete draining tools, 127 

Obstructions, 187 

Obstructions from oxide of 

iron,, 191 

Obstructions from roots of 

plants, 187 

Obstructions, how detected,.... 192 
Obstructions, how removed,. ..192 
Optimum temperature for 

plants, 5 

Organic substances as plant 

food, 11 

Outlets and obstructions, 184 

Outlets, protection of, 185 

Oval sole tiles, 121 

Oxygen required by plants, 72 

Parkes' experiments and im- 
provements in draining, 64, 112 

Palladius on draining, 99 

Peas, in sterile quartz sand,.. ..17 
Peas, Rothamsted experi- 
ments with, 15 

Peat, laying tiles in, 183 

Philosophy of draining by 

Parkes, 113 

Philosophy of farm draining, 2 

Physical clianges in soils, 10 

Physiological laws, .2 

Physiology of plants, 3 

Pipe drains before the pres- 
ent century, 102 

Pipe tiles recommended, 112 

Plank in ditch to avoid mud,.. .171 

Plant food and fertility, 23 

Plant food, organic sub- 
stances as, 11 

Plant food prepared by mi- 
crobes, 21 

Plant growtli and soil evap- 
oration, 62 

Plant growth and soil meta- 
bolism, 10 

Plant growth, conditions of, 

4,8,9,23 

Plant physiology, 3 

Pliny on draining, 99 

Plotting of drains, 137 

Plow in ditches, 162 

Potential or stored energy, 30 

Principles of agriculture, 2 

Pri nciples of ((rainage, 153 

Profitable crop growing, 2 

Progress of discovery and in- 
vention, 96 

Protection of joints, 172 

Protection of outlets 185 

Pull draining scoop, 125 

Push draining scoop, 126 

Pull and push scoop, 126, 160 

Putrefaction caused by mi- 
crobes, 10 

Quality of tiles 140 

Quicksand, how to manage, — 179 

Quicksand, laying tiles in, 181 

Quicksand, use of scoop in, 180 

Radian r. heat and atmos- 
pheric moisture, 66 



Radiant heat and soil mois- 
ture, 89 

Rainfall affecting water 

table, 25 

Rainfall and drainage, var- 
iations in, 38 

Rainfall, evaj)oration and 

drainage, 35 

Rainfall in Michigan, 151 

Rainfall retained by drained 

soil, 154 

Rainfalls, extraordinary, ..152, 156 
Range of roots of farm crops, 

9, 72, 133 

Retentive soils, advantages 

of draining, 70, 71 

Root development and drain- 
age, ..72 

Root distribution, 8 

Root fibrils 9 

Root nodules and nitrogen 

supply, 14 

Roots in tile drains, 187 

Roots of plants, action of on 

soils, 21 

Roots, range in depth, 9, 72, 133 

Roots, use of, 8 

Ro.thamsted drainage exper- 
iments, 45 

Rothamsted experiments 

1888-'89, 15 

Round tiles, 123 

Round tiles, advantages of, — 139 
Sachs' exp. with hygroscopic 

moisture, 91 

Sag of line, how prevented, — 164 
Sand and turfed soil drain- 
age 42 

Schloesing and Muntz, mi- 
crobes of nitrification, 12 

Schubler's soil experiments, — 66 

Science in farm economy, 2 

Scoops for draining,. . . .125, 126, 159 
Season, influence on food 

supply of crops, 23 

Seasons and crop statistics, 94 

Seeds, germination of, tem- 
perature,. 5 

Selective power of plants, 22 

Shears for support of line 163 

Silt and silt basins, 190 

Size and quality of tiles, 139 

Size of mains, 149 

Size of tiles, 148 

Smith of Deanston, improv- 
ed system of, 106 

Smith of Deanston system 

a rediscovery, Ill 

Smith of Deanston, the pio- 
neer advocate of drain- 
ing high lands, 108 

Sods to protect joints, 172 

Soil conditions of plant 

growth, 3, 9 

Soil evaporation, 56, 58 

Soil exhaustion, 12 

Soil metabolism, 10 

Soil metabolism and drainage, . .73 



198 



INDEX. 



Soil moisture, 7, 78 

Soil moisture and m.anures, 82 

Soil moisture and radiant 

lieat, 89 

Soil moisture condensed from 

atmosphere, 89 

Soil temperatures, 26, 68, 69 

Soil temperatures and en- 
ergy, 62 

Soils, available depth of, 25 

Soils, capillary capacity of, 144 

Soils, how warmed, 68, 69 

Soils, moisture in cropped 

and uncropped, 78 

Soils seeded with microbes, 18 

Spades for draining, 124 

Spirit level, use of, 167 

Springs, perennial, 187 

Standing in ditch, 171 

Stephens' Book of the Farm,.. .122 
Stephens' Maimal of Draining,. 123 

Stoppage of drains, 184 

Stored or potential energy, . .29, 30 

Struggle for existence, 11 

Summer and winter drain- 
age, 40 

Summer drainage slight, 47 

Summer fallows, 12 

Sun's energy, 33 

Survival of the fittest, 11 

System of drainage, map of, — 134 
Table 1, Water in soil and 

yield of crops, 7 

Table" 2, Plants in sterile 

soils, 16 

Table 3, Dickinson's drain- 
age exp. monthly aver- 
ages, 36 

Table 4, Dickinson's drain- 
age exp. annual varia- 
tions, 37 

Table 5, Dickinson's drain- 
age exp. for each month,. . .39 
Table 6, Dickinson's drain- 
age exp. half-yearly 

averages, 41 

Table 7, Mr. Greaves' drainage 

experiments, 42 

Table 8, Rothamsted drain- 
age, monthly averages, 46 

Table 9, Rothamsted drain- 
age, annual and semi- 
annual, 49 

Table 10, Rainfall and evap- 
oration, Syracuse and 

Ogdensburg, N. Y., 53 

Table 11, Rainfall and drain- 
age, Geneva, N. Y., 54 

Table 12, Schubler's capacity 

of soils for heat, 66 

Table 13, Schubler's capil- 
lary soil water, 75 

Table 14, Rothamsted, wheat 

on drained land, yield 79 

Table 15, Rothamsted, sum- 
mer and winter soil 
water, 81 



Table 16, Rothamsted sum- 
mer and winter, tons of 

water per acre 84 

Table 17, Rothamsted soil 
water in fallow and 
barley land, percent- 
ages, 86 

Table 18, Rothamsted soil 
water in fallow and 
barley land, tons per acre, 87 
Table 19, Atmospheric vapor 

absorbed by soils, 88 

Table 20, Soil water used by 

tobacco plant, 93 

Table 21, Cost of draining at 

different depths, Parkes,..114 
Table 22, Central Park drain- 
age after rains, 146 

Table 23, Central Park drain- 
age maximum discharge,. 147 
Table 24, Relations of drain- 
age to rainfall, averages,. 155 
Tarred paper to cover joints, . . .172 
Temperature of soils, lower- 
ed by evaporation, 64 

Temperature of soils, requir- 
ed by plants, 4 

Temperatures of soils, vapor 
of atmosphere influenc- 
ing, 68, 69 

Tile drain ditches, how made, . .161 
Tile draining implements, .123-129 
Tile drains, construction of, — 107 

Tile drains, how covered, 143 

Tile drains, how water en- 
ters, 140 

Tile hammer, 175 

Tile laying, begin at the 

outlet, 137 

Tile laying in quicksand, 180 

Tile laying, tools required, 159 

Tile pick for cutting 175 

Tiles, covered with clay,.. .113, 143 
Tiles, cutting and fitting 

joints of, 175 

Tiles, how laid 169 

Tiles in peat, 183 

Tiles, qual ity and size of, 139 

Tiles, size of, 148 

Tools required, 159 

Transformation of energy, 30, 31, 32 
Turfed soils, evaporation 

from, 43, 44 

Unit of heat for measuring 

energy, 27 

Unit of work, 27 

United States, climate in, 51 

Universe, energy of, 31 

Vapor, atmospheric, and 

frosts, 68, 69 

Varro on draining 98 

Variations in drainage and 

rainfall, 38 

Vegetation diminishes drain- 
age, 44 

Vetches in sterile soils, 19 

Vetches, Rothamsted exper- 
iments with, 15 



INDEX. 



199 



Waring's Central Park drain- 
age, 146 

Waring's draining tools, 128 

Washout in drains, 188 

Water and soil temperatures, 26, 59 
Water, circulation of, in 

growing crops, 6, 62 

Water culture experiments, 22 

Water, energy required to 

evaporate, 61 

Water exhaled by corn, 7, 60 

Water exhaled by plants, 6 

Water exhaled by wheat, 7 

Water, how it enters drains,... 140 

Water in soils, forms of, 24 

Water required by growing 
plants, 



Water stored by drained 

soils, 93 

Water table, 24 

Water table after rains, 143 

Wells in drains, 191 

Wet soils not readily warmed,. . .64 

Wheat, water exhaled by, 7 

Winter and summer drain- 

w ^^Se,.... 40 

Winter drainage 111 excess 

of rainfall, 47 

Wood's farm drains, 150 

Work in the trench, 170 

Yeast, an alcholic ferment, 11 

Yield of crops and soil mois- 
ture, 7 



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the breeder on an extensive scale. By Joseph Harris. Illustrated. 
Cloth, 12mo - -.- 1.50 

Jones's Peanut Plant— Its Cultivation and Uses. 

A practical Book, instructing the beginner how to raise goc "^ crops 
of Peanuts. By B, W. Jones, Surry Co., Va. Paper Cover,.. — .50 



STANDARD BOOKS. 3 

Barry's Fruit Garden. 

By P. Barry, A standard work on fruit and fniit-trees ; the author 
having had over thirty years' practical experience at the head of one 
of the largest nurseries in this country. New edition, revised up to 
date. Invaluable to all fruit-growers. Illustrated. Cloth, 12aio. 2.C0 

The Propagation of Plants. 

By Andrew S. Fuller. Illustrated with numerous engravings. An 
eminently practical and useful work. Describing the process of hy- 
bridizing and crossing species and varieties, and also the many differ- 
ent modes by which cultivated plants may be propagated and multi- 
plied. Cloth, 12mo „ 1.50 

Stewart's Shepherd's Manual. 

A Valuable Practical Treatise on the Sheep, for American farmers and 
sheep growers. It is so plain that a farmer, or a farmer's son, who 
has never kept a sheep, may learn from its pages how to manage a 
flock successfully, and yet f.o complete that even the experienced 
shepherd may gather many suggestions from it. The results of per- 
sonal experience of some years with the characters of the various mod- 
ern breeds of sheep, andtlie sheep-raising capabilities of many portions 
of our extensive territory and that of Canada— and the careful study of 
the diseases to which our sheep are chiefly subject, with those by which 
they may eventually be aJBiicted through unforeseen accidents— as well 
as the methods of management called for under our circumstances, are 
here gathered. By Henry Stewart. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo- ._ 1.50 

Allen's American Cattle. 

Their History, Breeding, and Managemei^. By Lewis F. Allen. This 
Book will be considered indispensable by every breeder of live stock. 
The large experience of the author in improving the character of 
American herds adds to the weight of his observations, and has 
enabled him to produce a work which will at once make good his 
claims as a standard authority on the subject. New and revised 
edition. Illustrated. Cloth, l2mo 3 50 

Fuller's Grape Culturist. 

By. A. S. Fuller. This is one of the very best of works on the culture 
of the hardy grapes, with full directions for all departments of propa- 
gation, culture, etc., with 150 excellent engravings, illustrating plant- 
ing, training, grafting, etc. Cloth, 12mo.-_» 1.50 

White's Cranberry Culture, 

Contents :— Natural History.— History of Cultivation. — Choice of 
Location.— Preparing the Ground. — Plantingthe Vines.— Management 
of Meadows. — Flooding — Enemies and Difficulties Overcome.— Pick- 
ing.— Keeping,— Profit and Loss. — Letters from Practical Growers.— 
Insects Injurious to the Cranberry. By Joseph J. White. A practi- 
cal grower. Dlustrated. Cloth, 12mo. New and revised edition. 1.25 

Herbert's Hints to Horse-Keepers. 

This is one of the best and most popular works on the Horse in this 
country. A Complete Manual for Horsemen, embracing : How to 
Breed a Horse ; How to Buy a Horse ; How to Break a Horse ; How- 
to Use a Horse ; How to Feed a Horse ; How to Physic a Horse (Allo- 
pathy or Homoepathy) ; How to Groom a Horse ; How to Drive a 
Horse ,• How to Kide a Horse, etc. By the late Henry William Her- 
bert (Frank Forester). Beautifully Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo... 1.75 



4 STANDARD BOOKS. 

Henderson's Practical Floriculture. 

By Peter Henderson. A guide to the suecessful propagation and 
cultivation of florists' plants. The work is not one for llorists and 
gardenei-s only, but the amateur's wants are constantly kept in mind, 
and we liave a very complete treatise on the cultivation of flowers 
under glass, or in the open air, suited to those wiio grow flowers for 
pleasure as well as those who make them a matter of trade. The 
work is characterized by tha same radical common sense that marked 
the author's " Gardening for Profit," and it holds a high place in the 
estimatiort of lovers of agriculture. Beautifully Ulu&trated. New and 
enlarged edition. Cloth, 12mo 1.50 

Harris's Talks on Manures. 

By Joseph Harris, M. S., author ©f " Wafks and Talks on the Farm," 
"Harrison the Pig." etc. Revised and enlarged by the author. A 
series of familiar and practical talks between the author and the dea- 
con, the doctor, aud other neighbors, on the whole subject of manures 
and fertilizers ; including a chapter specially written for it by Sir John 
Bennet Lawes, of Rothamsted, England. Cloth, 12mo 1.75 

Waring' s Braining for Profit and Draining for Health. 

This book is a very complete and practical treatise, the directions in 
which are plain, and easily followed. The subject cf thorough farm 
drainage is discussed in all its bearings, and also that more extensive 
land drainage by which the sanitary condition of any district may be 
greatly improved, even to the banishment of fever and ague, typhoid 
and malarious fever. By Geo. E. Waring, Jr Illustrated, Cloth 12mo. 

1.50 

The Practical Rabbit-Keeper. 

By Cuniculas^ Illustrated. A comprehensive work on keeping and 
raising Rabbits for pleasure as well as for profit. The book is abrn 
dantly illastrated with all the various Courts, Warrens, Hutches, 
Fencing, etc., and also with excellent portraits of the most important 
species of rabbits throughout the world. 12avo 1.50 

duinby's New Bee-Keeping. 

The Mysteries of Bee-keeping Explained. Combining the results of 
Fifty Tears' Experience, with the latest discoveries and inventions, 
and presenting the most approved methods, forming a complete work. 
Cloth, 12mo 1.50 

Profits in Poultry. 

Useful and Ornamental Breeds and their Profitable Management. This 
excellent work contains the combined experience of a number of prac- 
tical men in all departments of poultry raising. It is profusely illus- 
trated and forms an unique and important addition to our poultry lit- 
erature. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

Barn Plans and Outbuildings. 

Two Hundred and Fifty-seven Ilhistrations. A most Valuable Work, 
full of Ideas, Hints, Suggestions, Plans, etc., for the Construction of 
Barns and Outbuildings, by Practical writers. Chapters are devoted, 
among other subjects, to the Economic Erection and Use of Bams. 
Grain Banis, House Bams, Cattle Barns, Sheep Barns, Corn Houses, 
Smoke Houses, Ice Houses, Pig Pens, Granaries, etc. There arc like- 
wise chapters upon Bird Houses, Dog Houses, Tool Sheds, Ventila- 
tt)rs, Roofs and Roofing, Doors and Fastenings, Work Shops, Poultry 
Houses, M'anure Sheds, Barn Yards, Root Pits, etc. Recently pub- 
lished. Cloth, 12mo J 50 



STANDARD BOOKS. 5 

Parsons on the Rose. 

By Samuel B. Parsocs. A treatise on the propagation, culture, and 
history of the rose. New and revised edition. In his work upon the 
rose, Mr. Parsons has gathered up the curious legends concerning 
the flower, and ffives us an idea of the esteem in which it was held in 
former times. A simple garden classilication has been adopted, tmd 
the leading varieties under each class enumerated and briefly 
described. The chapters on multiplication, cultivation, and training 
are very full, and the work is altogether one of the most complete 
before the public. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo 1.00 

Heinrich's Window Flower Garden. 

The author is a practical florist, and this enterprising volume em- 
bodies his personal experiences in Window Gardening during a long 
period. New and enlarged edition. By Julius J. Heinrich. Fully 
Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo.- .75 

Liautard's Chart of the Age of the Domestic Animals. 

Adopted by the United States Army. Enables one to accurately de- 
termine the age of horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, and pigs 50 

Pedder's Land Measurer for Farmers. 

A convenient Pocket Companion, showing at once the contents of 
any piece of land, when its lenj2:th and width are known, up to 1,500 
feet either way, with various other useful farm tables. Cloth, 18mo; 

.60 

How to Plant and What to Do with the Crops. 

With other valuable hints for the Farm, Garden and Orchard. By 
Mark W. Johnson. Illustrated. Contents : Times for Sowinjj; Seeds : 
Covering Seeds ; Field Crops ; Garden or Vegetable Seeds, Sweet 
Herbs, etc.; Tree Seeds ; Flower Seeds ; Fruit Trees ; Distances Apart 
for Fruit Trees and Shrubs ; Profitable Farming ; Green or Manuring 
Crops ; Boot Crops ; Forage Plants ; What to do with the Crops ; The 
Rotation of Crops; Varieties; Paper Covers, post-paid .r>0 

Your Plants. 

Plain and Practical Directions for the Treatment of Tender and Hardy 
Plants in the House and in the Garden. By James Sheehan. The 
above title well describes the character of the work — " Plain and Prac- 
tical." The author, a commercial florist and gardener, has endeavored, 
in this work, to answer the many questions asked by his customers, as 
to the proper treatment of plants. The book shows all through that 
its author is a practical man, and he writes as one with a large store 
of experience. The work better meets the wants of the amateur vvho 
grows a few plants in the window, or has a small flower Garden, than 
a larger treatise intended for those who cultivate plants upon a more 
extended "scale. Price, post-paid, paper covers .40 

Husmann's American Grape-Growing and Wine-Making. 

By George Husmann of Talcoa vineyards, Napa, California. New and 
enlarged edition. With contributions from well-known giape-growers, 
giving a wide ranjre of experience. The author of this book is a 
recognizc5d authority on the subject. Cloth, 12mo... 1.50 

The Scientific Angler. 

A general and instructive work on Artistic Angling, by the late David 
Foster. Complied by his Sons. With an Introductory Chapter and 
Copious Foot Notes, by William C. Harris, Editor of the " American 
Angler." Cloth, 12mo 1.50 



6 STANDARD BOOKS. 

Keeping One Cow. 

A coUection of Prize Essays, and selections from a numlber of other 
Essays, with editorial notes, suggestions, etc. This book gives the 
latest information, and in a clear and condensed form, upon the man- 
agement of a single Milch Cow. Illustrated with full-page engrav- 
ings of the most famous dairy cows. Kecently published. Cloth, 
12mo-. ----- 1.00 

law's Veterinary Adviser 

A Guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Disease in Domestic 
Animals. This is one of the best works on this subject, and is especi- 
ally designed to supply the need of the busy American Farmer, who 
can rarely avail himself of the advice of a Scientific Veterinarian. It 
is brought up to date and treats of the Prevention of Disease, as well 
as of the Eemedies. By Prof. Jas. Law. Cloth, Crown 8vo 3.00 

Guenon's Treatise on Milch Cows. 

A Treatise on the Bovine Species in General. An entirely new trans- 
lation of the last edition of this popular and instructive book. By 
Thos. J. Hand, Secretary of the American Jersey Cattle Club. With 
over 100 Illustrations, especially engraved for this work. Cloth, 12mo. 

The Cider Maker's Handbook. 

A complete guide for making- and keeping pure cider. By J. M. Trow- 
bridge. Fully Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo 1.00 

Long's Ornamental Gardening for Americans. 

A treatise on Beautifying Homes, Rural Districts, and Cemeteries. A 
plain and practical work at a moderate price, with numerous illus- 
trations, and instructions so plain that they may be readily followed. 
By Ellas A. Long. Landscape Architect. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. 

The Dogs of Great Britain, America and Other Countries. 

New, enlarged and revised edition. Their breeding, training and 
management, in health and disease ; comprising all the essential parts 
of the two standard works on the dog, by " Stonehenge," thereby fur- 
nishing for $2 what once cost $11.25. Contains Lists of all Premiums 
given at the last Dog Shows. It Describes the Best Game and Hunt- 
ing Grounds in America. Contains over One Hundred Beautiful En- 
gravings, embracing most noted Dogs in both Continents, making to- 
gether, with Chapters by American Writers, the most Complete Dog 
Book ever published. Cloth, 12mo.- -.. 2.00 

Stewart's Feeding Animals. 

By Elliot W. Stewart. A new and valuable practical work upon the 
laws of animal growth, specially applied to the rearing and feeding 
horses, cattle, diary cows, sheep and swine. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. 

2.00 

How to Co-operate. 

A Manual for Co-operators. By Herbert Myrick. This book describes 
the how rather than the wherefore of co-operation. In other words it 
tells how to manage a co-operative store, farm or factory, and co-op- 
erative dairying, banking and fire insurance, and co-operative farmers' 
and women's exchanges for both buying and selling. The directions 
given are based on the actual experience of successful co-operative en- 
terprises in all parts of the United States. The character and useful- 
ness of the book commend it to the attention of all men and women 
who desire to better their condition. 12mo. Cloth 1.50 



STANDARD BOOKS. 7 

Batty' s Practical Taxidermy and Home Decoration. 

By Joseph H. Batty, taxidermist for the government feurveys and 
many colleges and museums in the United States. An entirely new 
and complete as well as authentic work on taxidermy — giving in 
detail full dh-ections for collecting and mounting animals, birds, rep- 
tiles, fish, insects, and general objects of natural history. 125 illus- 
trations. Cloth, 12mo 1.50 

Stewart's Irrigation for the Farm, Garden, and Orchard. 

New and Enlarged Edition. This work is offered to those American 
Farmers, and other cultivators of the soil, who from painful expe- 
rience can readily appreciate the losses which result from the scarcity 
of water at critical periods. By Henry Stewart. Fully illustrated. 
Cloth, 12mo- 1.50 

Johnson's How Crops Grow. 

New Edition, entirely rewritten. A Treatise on the Chemical Compo- 
sition, Structure, and Life of the Plant. Revised Edition. This book 
is a guide to the knowledge of agricultural plants, their composition, 
their structure, and modes of development and growth ; of the com- 
plex organization of plants, and the use of the parts ; the germination 
of seeds, and the food of plants obtained both from the air and the 
soil. The book is an invaluable one to all real students of agricul- 
ture. With numerous illustrations and tables of analysis. By Prof. 
Samuel W. Johnson, of Tale College. Cloth, 12mo 2.00 

Johnson's How Crops Feed. 

A treatise on the Atmosphere and the Soil, as related in the Nutrition 
of Agricultural Plants. The volume — the companion and complement 
to "How Crops Grow,"— has been welcomed by those who appreciate 
scientific aspects of agi-iculture. Illustrated. By Prof. Samuel W. 
Johnson. Cloth, 12mo 2.00 

Warington's Chemistry of the Farm. 

Treating with the utmost clearness and conciseness, and in the most 
popular manner possible, of the relations of Chemistry to Agriculture, 
and providing a welcome manual for those, who, while not having 
time to systematically study Chemistry, will gladly have such an idea 
as this gives them of its relation to operations on the farm. By R. 
Warington, F. C. S. Cloth, 12mo 1.00 

French's Farm Drainage. 

The Principles, Process, and Effects of Draining Land, with Stones, 
Wood, Ditch-plows, Open Ditches, and especially with Ties ; includ- 
ing Tables of Rainfall, Evaporation, Filteration, Excavation, Capacity 
of Pipes, cost and number to the acre. By Judge French, of New 
•Hampshu-e. Cloth, 12mo 1.50 

Hunter and Trapper. 

The best modes of Hunting and Trapping are fully explained, and 
Foxes, Deer, Bears, etc., fall into his traps readily by following his 
directions. By Halsey Thrasher, an old and experienced sportsman. 
Cloth, 12mo. : 75 

The American Merino. For Wool or for Mutton. 

A practical and most valuable work on the selection, care, breeding 
and diseases of the Merino sheep, in all sections of the the United 
States. It is a full and exhaustive treatise upon this one breed of 
sheep. By Stephen Powers. Cloth, 12mo 1.50 



8 STANDARD BOOKS. 

Armatage's Every Man His Own Horse Doctor. 

By Prof. George Armatage, M. B. C. V. S. A valuable and compre' 
hensive guide for both the professional and general reader with the 
fullest and latest information regarding all diseases, local injuries, 
lameness, operations, poisons, the dispensatory, etc , etc., with practi- 
cal anatomical and surgical Illustrations. New Edition. Together 
with Blaine's " Veterinary Art," and numerous recipes. One large 
8vo. volume, 830 pages, half morocco - 7.50 

Dadd's Modern Horse Doctor. 

Containing Practical Observations on the Causes, Nature, and Treat- 
ment of Diseases and Lameness of Horses— embracing recent and im- 
? roved Methods, according to an enlightened system of Veterinary 
ractice, for Preservation and Restoration of Health. Illustrated. 
By Geo. H. Dadd, M. D. V. S., Cloth, 12mo 1.50 

The Family Horse. 

Its stabling. Care, and Feeding. By Geo. A. Martin. A Practical 
Manual, full of the most useful information. Illustrated. Cloth, 
12mo 1.00 

Sander's Horse Breeding. 

Being the general principles of Heredity applied to the Business of 
Breeding Horses and the Management of Stallions, Brood Mares and 
Foals. The book embraces all that the breeder should know in regard 
to the selection of stock, management of the staUion, broodmare, and 
foal, and treatment of diseases peculiar to breeding animals. By J. 
H. Sanders. 12mo, cloth.. 2.00 

Coburn's Swine Husbandry. 

New, revised and enlarged edition. The Breeding, Rearing and 
Management of Swine, and the Prevention and Treatment of their 
Diseases. It is the fullest and freshest compendium relating to Swine 
Breeding yet offered. By F. D. Coburn. Cloth, 12mo 1.75 

Dadd's American Cattle Doctor. 

By George H. Dadd, M, D., Veterinary Practitioner. To help every 
man to be his own cattle-doctor ; giving the necessary information 
for preserving the health and curing the diseases of oxen, cows, sheep, 
and swine, with a great variety of original recipes, and valuable infor- 
mation on farm and dau-y management. Cloth, 12mo 1.50 

Silos, Ensilage, and Silage. 

A practical treatise on the Ensilage of Fodder Com. Containing the 
most recent and authentic information on this important subject, by 
Manly Miles, M.D.,F.R,M.S. Illustrated. Cloth 12mo .50 

Broom Corn and Brooms. 

A Treatise on Raising Broom-Corn and Making Brooms on a smaU or 
Large Scale. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth cover 50 

American Bird Fancier. 

Or how to breed, rear, and care for Song and Domestic Birds. This 
valuable and important little work for all who are interested in the 
keeping of Song Birds, has been revised and enlarged, and is now a 
complete manual upon the subject. All who own valuable birds, or 
wish to do so, will find the new Fancier indispensable. New, revised 
and enlarged edition. By D. J. Browne, and Dr. Fuller Walker. Illus- 
trated, paper cover.. - 50 



STANDARD BOOKS. 9 

Armatage's Every Man His Own Cattle Doctor. 

The Veterinaiy Cyclopedia— Embracing all the practical information 
of value heretofore published on the Diseases of Cattle, Sheep, and 
Swine, together with the latest and best information regarding all 
known diseases up to the present time. Compiled and edited by that 
eminent authority, Prof. George Armatage, M. R. C. V. S. One 
large octavo volume, 894 pages, with upwards of 350 practical illus- 
trations, showing forms of disease and treatment. Half morocco. 7.50 

Onions— How to Raise them Profitably. 

Being the Practical Details, from Selection of Seed and Preparation 
of Ground to Harvesting and Marketing the Crop, given very plainly 
by Seventeen Practical Onion Growers of lon^- experience residing in 
difEerent parts of the country. No more valuable work of its size 
was ever issued. Paper cover, 8vo 20 

Tobacco Culture— Full Practical Details. 

This useful and valuable work contains full details of every process 
from the Selection and Preparation of the Seed and Soil to the Harvest- 
ing, Curing and Marketing the Crop, with illustrative engravings of 
the operations. The work was prepared by Fourteen Experienced 
Tobacco Growers, residing in different parts of the country. It also 
contains notes on the Tobacco Worm, with illustrations, 8vo,.. ,25 

Hop Culture. 

Plain directions given by ten experienced cultivators. Revised, en- 
larged and edited by A. S. Fuller. Forty engravings 30 

riax Culture. 

A very valuable work, containing full directions, from selection of 
ground and seed to preparation and marketing of crop, as given by 
a number of experienced growers, 8vo 30 

Potato Pests. 

No Farmer can afford to be without this little book. It gives the 
most complete account of the Colorado Beetle anywhere to be found, 
and includes all the latest discoveries as to the habits of the insect 
and the various means for its destruction. It is well illustrated, and 
exhibits in a map the spread of the insect since it left its native home. 
By Prof . C. V. Riley. Paper cover .50 

Home Fishing and Home "Waters. 

By Seth Green. The Utilization of Farm Streams ; Management of 
Fish in the Artificial Pond ; Transportation of Eggs and Fry, etc. 
Cloth, 13mo-- - - - - --- .50 

Eeed's House Plans for Everybody. 

By S. B. Reed. This useful volume meets the wants of persons of 
moderate means, and gives a wide range of design, from a dwelling 
costing $250 up to $8,000, and adapted to farm, village and town resi- 
dences. Nearly aU of these plans have been tested by practical work- 
ings. One feature of the work imparts a value over any similar pub- 
lication of the kind that we have seen. It gives an estimate of the 
quantity of every article used in the construction, and the cost of each 
article at the time the building was erected or the design made. Even 
if prices vary from time to time, one can, from these data, ascertain 
within a few dollars the probable cost of constructing any one of the 
buildings here presented. Profusely illustrated. Cloth, black and 
gold, l2mo- 1.50 



lO STANDARD BOOKS. 

Gregory on Cabbages— How to Grow Them. 

A Practical Treatise on Cabbage Culture, giving full details on every 
point, inclnding Keeping and Marketing the Crop. By James J. H. 
Gregory. Paper cover, 13mo 3o 

Gregory on Carrots, Mangold-Wnrtzels, etc. 

How to raise them, bow to keep them, and how to feed them. By 
J. J. H. Gregory. Paper Cover, l2mo .30 

Gregory on Onion Raising. 

What kinds to raise, and the way to raise them. By J. J. H, Gregory. 
Paper cover, 12mo ^ .30 

Gregory on Squashes. 

This Treatise, which no Farmer or Gardener ought to be without, 
tells all about selecting the soil for squashes ; how much Manure is 
necessary ; how to prepare and Plant ; about Hoeing and Cultivating ; 
Setting of the Fruit ; Ripening,; Gathering, Storing, Care during Win- 
ter, etc. By J. J. H. Gregory. Paper cover, 12mo .30 

Hog-Raising and Pork-Making. 

By Rufus Bacon Martin, The hog is reared for the money that is in 
him, and he represents either a profit or loss to his owner according to 
the treatment he receives. This pamphlet gives the personal research 
and experience of the author, contains man^ valuable suggestions, 
and answers many of the questions that arise in the business of hog- 
raising. Paper, femo... .40 

Fulton's Peach Culture. 

This is the only practical guide to Peach Culture on the Delaware 
Peninsula, and is the best work upon the subject of peach growing for 
those who would be successful in that culture in any part of the 
country. It has been thoroughly revised and a large portion of it re- 
written, by Hon. J. Alexander Fulton, the author, bringing it down to 
date. Cloth, 12mo 1.50 

Silk Culture. 

A Handbook for Silk-Growers. By Mrs. C. E. Bamford. Con- 
tents. — Chapter I. The Mulberry. — II. Gathering the Leaves. — 
III. The Cocoonery.— IV. Eggs of the Silk Worm Moth.— V. Feed- 
ing the Silk Worms.— VI. Moulting.—VII. Spinning.— VIII. The 
Cocoons.— IX. The Moths of the Silk Worm.— X. Varieties of Silk 
Worms.— XI. Diseases of the Silk Worm.— XII. Reeling.— XIII. 
Chemistry of Silk. — XIV. Miscellaneous. Paper, 12mo. Price, post- 
paid .30 

Treats' injurious Insects of the Farm and Garden. By 
Mrs. Mary Treat. 

An original investigator who has added much to our knowledge of both 
Plants and insects, and those who are familiar with Darwin's works 
are aware that he gives her credit for important observation and dis- 
coveries. New and Enlarged Edition. With an Illustrated Chapter 
on Beneficial Insects. Fully illustrated. Cloth, 12mo 2.00 

Fuller's Small Fruit Culturist. 

By Andrew S. Fuller. Rewritten, enlarged, and brought fully up to 
the present time. The book covers the whole ground of propagating 
small fruits, their culture, varieties, packing for market, etc. It is 
very finely and thoroughly illustrated, and makes an admirable com- 
panion to "The Grape Culturist," by the same well known author, 

1.50 



A ValuaWe Periodical for miiMj in City, Village, and Conntry. 



JhB American A S^icpI^Pfigj ' 

(ESTABLISHED 1842.) 

rHE LEADING INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION 

FOR THE 

FARM, GARDEN, AND HOUSEHOLD. 




A MONTHLY MAGAZINE of from 48 to 64 pages in each number, 
containing in each volume upward of 700 pages and over 1000 original engravings 
of typical and prize-winning Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Swine, and Fowls ; New 
Fruits, Vegetables, and Flowers ; House and Barn Plans ; New Implements and 
Labor-saving Contrivances ; and many pleasing and instructive pictures for young 
and old. 

THE STANDARD AUTHORITY in all matters pertaining to 

Agriculture, Horticulture, and Rural Arts, and the oldest and most ably edited 
periodical of its class in the world. 

BEST RURAL PERIODICAL IN THE WORLD. 

The thousands of hints and suggestions given in every volume are prepared by 
practical, intelligent farmers, who know what they write about. 

The Household Department is valuable to ever^f housekeeper, afford- 
ing very many useful hints and directions calculated to lighten and facilitate 
indoor work. 

The Department for Children and Youth is prepared with 

special care, to furnish not only amusement, but also to inculcate knowledge 
and sound moral principles. 



SuliseTiption Terms : $1.50 a year, postags i:claded ; sampb copies, ICc. each. 
Address, 

AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 

52 & 54 Lafayette Place, New York. 




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